One More Time
by GuitarHeroLost
Summary: I'm writing again! For good this time! High school OC story. submissions OPEN for minor characters ONLY! inside for details.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all…I know I haven't exactly been reliable in the past. But I think I bit off more than I could chew back then, if you know what I mean. And I do love the OC stories, I DO I DO I DO! But acceptance is going to be strictly competitive on this one.

First of all, this is a HIGH SCHOOL FIC. No dorm rooms on this one, I just can't handle that. It's just your average every-day ride-the-bus in the morning school. I don't think I could manage an on-island fic. Hopefully you understand.

Secondly, not everyone will be accepted. I might not follow up on this, but I want to say that most everyone will not be accepted. Nothing personal if you aren't accepted, but I can't keep all my people straight if I have 50 OC's. They will be the most diverse bunch of people I can find. And I need ORIGINAL characters. And only two per person too; but both will not necessarily be accepted. Strain your brains on this one, guys. I want different people. For example, here's a few high-school-clique/stereotypes that you may want to consider submitting in.

_Popular_: usually really girly or really jock-y. They know everyone loves them and they live off of attention. Sometimes arrogant.

_Emo/goth/rockers_: dyed hair, gothic clothes, not exactly the loudest people you'll find (with exceptions of course.) Sometimes are 'cutters' or use drugs and drink and PARTY!

_Tomboyish girls_: Those really athletic chicks who hang around guys more than girls.

_Whores: _this can be combined with any of the other ones. Those girls/guys who are pretty much sex addicts.

_Nerds_: NERDS RULE! Haha, anyway…the really book-smartish ones who can be quiet and can be loud.

These guidelines don't have to be followed at all! Give me all you got! This is just to get your creative juices flowing!

Moving on.

Not all canons will be included either. Boone, Shannon, Juliet, Kate, Claire, Charlie, Hurley, Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Ben, Alex, Charlotte, Daniel, Miles, Desmond, Ana Lucia, Richard, and POSSIBLY Alex & Naomi depending on how I feel. All the main ones really, so those are the ones to list under friends & pairings. If you have a certain plot idea in mind that involves other characters, let me know. I'm pretty open (:

Let's see…I'll be submitting two of my own. Both guys, because I know how much y'all love submitting girls.

Updates will be sporadic. You know me, I tend to go crazy sometimes and post chapter after chapter, then suddenly stop for two weeks. Or forever, but I promise that won't happen without warning this time.

Well, I'm thinking that's it … here's your form, and good luck!  
Oh yeah. Be original. Did I say that? I think I have. And be specific.

Name: _first and last_

Nicknames:

Sawyer's nicknames:

Personality:

Habits/Hobbies: _what they like to do for fun_

Appearance:

Clothing style:

Clique: _not necessarily; just if you had to give them a name. Can be different from above._

Friends:

Enemies:

Pairing:

Past: _they're only teenagers, I don't need 5 paragraphs. But make it juicy_

Strengths: _In and out of the classroom_

Weaknesses: _Same_

Clubs/Teams:

Favorites: _anything worth mentioning_

Parties? Drinking? Drugs? Sex?:

Important possessions:

Catchphrases:

Plot ideas: _what could happen to them this year?_

Anything else?: _did I forget something? Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else._

Oh, by the way, all students will be JUNIORS. That way they all theoretically have their drivers' licenses and stuff. Have fun!

GHL


	2. Accepted OCs

Hey all. Submissions are still open, but not for long. I've been putting friendship groups together and such and I think I'll need a bit more ... And if you've already submitted two, go ahead and submit more! If they were denied, it doesn't mean I didn't like them, it just meant I either didn't think I could write them or I had characters with similar personalities and stuff. And the first chapter may not come any time soon, because I have to get friendship groups and pairings and plots all worked out. You know how it is :P

**Accepted OCs**:

_Girls_:

Amelia Reynolds

Mimi Martinez

Cassie Scoresby

Scarlett Calvazara

Liv Bennett

Iris Palmer

Bridget Farris

_Guys_:

Leo Martinez

Gene Noroccini

Steven Summers

Luke Maddox

Raymond Jenkins

Colin Cooper

Zack Lindsey

Submit more please.

By the way, **Golden-Black Dragon**: I always LOVE your OCs because they always have good taste in music! Haha you are a boss!


	3. Day One: Before School

**Alright, here is your long-awaited chapter! At least, I hope it was long awaited. It should be, because it took me long enough to publish :( sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lost, the characters, or high school. Bad things would happen if I owned high school.**

No matter what happened, Amelia did not want to be 'the new girl.' She had never had to be 'the new girl' before, and she had no desire to take on that title this time around.

She hated to allow those timid, shy feelings to creep back into her, but she couldn't help it. Trying to act confident as she walked into the halls of her new building, her blue eyes scanned the half-empty hallways, glanced at the map in her hands, back at the school, and breathed deeply.

Amelia was smart, there was no denying that. But in the heat of the moment, her navigational skills left much to be desired. She wandered vaguely around the halls for a few moments before coming to the conclusion that she should probably try to find her first class; she had come a few minutes early for this exact reason.

It would be just her luck to get a math class as her first class of the new day. She entered, not expecting to see another student speaking with the teacher. A petite girl with tanned skin sat with one leg crossed over the other on a desktop facing the teacher, conversing with her quietly.

Amelia made her presence by setting her frighteningly thick textbook onto a desk, not bothering to smother the noise. The other girl's head whipped around, sending blood red curls flying. She looked at her once then returned to her conversation, "So, I'd really appreciate if you could make that suggestion for next year."

The teacher nodded and smiled. "I can do that right now, if you'd like. I make the final decision, anyway, and next year will be your last, so -,"

"It's the last chance I have, yes," the redheaded girl smiled charmingly. The teacher smiled back and exited the room, letting in an awkward silence as she left.

"Are you in this class?" she asked.

Amelia nodded. She had never had to make new friends before; it always just happened. Smiling and pushing back her blonde hair, she said, "Yup! I'm Amelia…Amelia Reynolds."

"Hmm," she said as if pondering something. "Well, they call me Mimi."

She still felt rather uncomfortable. Stalling for time, she flipped open her textbook absentmindedly and her mind went blank at the sight of the numbers and theories. Math was not her strong suit. "Oh, I'm really looking forward to that," she muttered under her breath.

Mimi strolled over and peered over her shoulder. "That's not that hard. I studied that last year," she explained.

"Well, math and I have never really got along so well," she said almost defensively.

Mimi half scoffed, half laughed. She looked as if she was about to respond when someone entered and said dramatically, "_There_ you are!"

Mimi rolled her eyes and Amelia looked on awkwardly. "What do you want?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" the newcomer cried. "Any longer and I don't think I could have gone on. In fact, if -,"

"Leo!" Mimi interrupted.

"You forgot your cell phone in the car, Matilde," he said bitterly, extending his hand.

Mimi swiped it from him, scowling. "Much appreciated."

Leo smirked and looked at Amelia for the first time. "Have we met? I think I've seen you before."

"Um, no I don't think so, I'm new," Amelia said, startled at being addressed so blatantly.

"Oh, it must have been in my dreams," Leo gave a charming smile that, added with his wavy brown hair and tan skin, was surprisingly attractive.

It was Amelia's time to roll her eyes. "No, I think it was in your nightmares."

Mimi giggled slightly but Leo looked unperturbed. "I'm the great Leonardo Martinez, I'm sure you've heard of me. And you are princess - ?"

"Princess Amelia, but you can address me as 'your majesty' or 'her highness,'" Amelia said coolly, enjoying the attention.

"Your wish is my command, your majesty," he said with a wink and even a slight bow.

_Well, it's better than 'the new girl'_, she thought to herself.

…

"H-O."

"No need for name calling," Iris said, feigning an offended tone.

Ray shook his head, chuckling slightly as he tossed the basketball without a second thought. "Don't worry about it, Palmer. If we had a volleyball competition, you'd school me."

"Or softball," she added.

Ray nodded. "My first and only love is basketball," he said.

"Keep your personal life out of this, Raymond, this is serious," she replied.

"I suppose my personal life isn't serious, then?" he asked, dribbling absentmindedly. At that moment a blonde haired girl with a dark haired companion strolled by the basketball courts.

"Speaking of Ray's personal life," Iris muttered. "HEY CLAIRE!"

The blonde girl looked over and waved at both of them. Ray dropped the basketball so that he could wave. The two girls continued onward.

"She's not your type, man," Iris said as he bent over to pick up the ball. "Sure, it'd be cute, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ray said calmly, shooting from half and making it.

"Show off," Iris said, dropping the subject completely.

…

Liv was facedown on her pillow. On a table next to her bed, her phone was vibrating frantically. After a few minutes of this, Liv was finally aroused. Slowly, she reached for her phone and held it up to her ear, drowsily answering "Hello?"

"Yer completely hungover, aren't ya?"

"Not completely," she muttered. "I'll be there."

"Ya better be, cuz first impressions count," Sawyer's voice rang out.

"And they don't last long," she said in response, and hung up. She ran a comb through her curly brown hair and quickly threw on a cute outfit and makeup. Grabbing her half-open bag, she was out of the door in record time.

Not exactly taking the speed limit into account, she pulled into school with about 5 minutes to spare. She hurried over to where Sawyer, Scarlett, and Steven were lounging around in the front of the building.

"Shouldn't you three delinquents be in class?" she droned as she skidded to a halt in front of them.

"Oh, you've caught us! You gonna tell on us?" Scarlett said in a fake-fearful tone.

"I'll let you off with a warning this time," Liv retaliated, clearly getting bored with this joke.

"Anyway, bell doesn't ring for another few minutes," Scarlett pointed out.

Liv ignored her. She took out a lighter and lit it, then let it go out. She repeated this a few times before glaring at Sawyer. "You couldn't have called me ten minutes earlier so I'd have time for a smoke before school?"

"I wouldn't've called yeh at all if Stevie here hadn't reminded me," Sawyer beckoned to the one beside him.

Steven punched him in the arm and scowled at the nickname. "My name is Steven."

Liv and Scarlett, who were used to this sort of behavior, rolled their eyes in annoyance at how often this occurred. Liv ignored this and said, "Thanks a ton, Summers, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here at all."

"What can I say, dolly, I'm here for you," Steven responded in a bored voice.

"At least get the teachers to hate you before you ditch," Scarlett added.

"So I can ditch after five minutes into class?" Liv questioned.

"Oh, come on, they don't hate you that much," Scarlett said. As Liv raised an eyebrow in disbelief, she went on. "I mean, when you're actually in class, you're really quiet. It's people like Sawyer that they hate 'cuz he speaks outta turn all the time."

"Don't you have somewhere to be, S?" Steven said before Sawyer or Liv could react to this.

"Shit, I do!" Scarlett jumped to her feet and ran off in the direction of the football field.

"You know, as head cheerleader, you should really try harder to set a good example!" he shouted after her retreating form.

"Well said," Liv and Sawyer muttered simultaneously. As the first bell rang out, all three said, "Too late for her anyway."

The three set off toward their first classes of junior year.

**Alright, here's your first chapter! I'll introduce the rest of the OC's next chapter. Oh, once again, sorry for the wait.**


	4. First Day is the Best Day

**I'm trying to be better about updating. But I also have to switch between this and Back and Better Than Ever, my sequel to LOST Campus. Which you should read, by the way, because it's very dramatic.**

**I don't own Lost or any of the characters. That's the point of the OC submission fic :P**

As the minute hand hit a certain number on the clock, three boys in three different classrooms simultaneously got out of their seats and approached the teachers' desks.

The same phrase uttered out of each of their mouths at the same time: "May I please go to the bathroom." The teachers all nodded.

They came to a halt at the same place in the hallway, at the same time.

"Oh, Gene, I have missed you so much," Charlie said to one of his companion's.

It was the other who spoke up. "Hey, it's not his fault you were going around the States trying to find gigs. Should've just stayed in LA, mate."

"Duty calls, mate," Charlie replied. "The band's got to tour in order to get famous."

"Dude, you aren't going anywhere," Luke told him with a sigh. "Word to the wise, ditch the psycho lead singer. Then maybe, maybe you have a chance."

"That psycho lead singer is my brother," Charlie replied.

"I know, and he's holding you back," Luke said. "Sorry to say it, but it's the truth."

"I don't see you in a band," Charlie snapped.

"I'd rather be solo than in a band like Drive Shaft," Luke muttered.

"Gentlemen!" the third one spoke up finally. The arguing friends were silenced, looking at him. "The money first, if you please."

"What?" Luke questioned.

"Gene, you've known us forever," Charlie said.

"Love all, trust none," Gene replied, his hands held out in expectance. The two others glanced at each other. "Come on boys, hurry it up. I don't need this, I've got more customers than you..."

Luke and Charlie immediately pulled out their wallets at these words, each handing him a wad of cash. After counting it, he looked back at the other two. "Now, turn around."

"Why?"

"So you don't see where it is," Charlie said to Luke.

He nodded. "But how do we know you won't just run when we have our backs turned?" Charlie nodded in agreement.

Gene laughed slightly, pulling his arms through his sleeves. He passed his leather jacket toward Luke. They both turned; it was one of the many things that the dealer is never seen without.

"You know, all this time, I thought you'd keep the drugs in here," Charlie said, searching through the jacket.

"Too obvious," Gene said. "Turn around." When they did, he had two separate bags in his hands. They took them gratefully, also handing back his jacket.

"Now I'm a little concerned where you keep it," Charlie said jokingly.

Gene smiled a grimace-like smile, clearly showing how much he did not want to smile. "Do realize that this isn't going to happen again. I don't normally deal on school property during school hours."

They nodded; both of them knew that already anyway.

As Charlie made his way back to his classroom, he reluctantly tucked his heroin away deep into his pocket. "It can wait till after first hour…."

As Luke traveled down his hallway, he passed a girl going in the opposite direction. "Hi Claire," he said with a smile. She smiled as well. When she was out of hearing range, he muttered, "One day, Luke. One day."

As Gene watched the other boys go, he said under his breath, "You keep me alive and you're my best friends, but when you're completely hooked and about to die, it's your own damn fault."

…

Cassie could not help but roll her eyes as Claire sat down and whispered to her that Luke Maddox had said hi to her in the hallway. Recently she just would not stop talking about him, and in all honesty, Cassie did not approve.

"What do you see in him?" she hissed, somehow managing to listen to the teacher while talking to Claire.

"What's there not to see in him?" she said with a big dreamy smile on her face.

Cassie sighed. They'd been over this list many times. "Well to start off, his hair's a complete mess."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Claire, when a guy's hair is three different colors, it's just a sign that there's something wrong," she was starting to feel really exasperated. Claire was smart enough, why couldn't she see that Luke was nothing but bad news?

"Normally I'd agree with you, but he can really pull it off," she defended. The bell rang, which distracted her long enough to miss Cassie's eye roll. The two friends grabbed their stuff and headed out toward their lockers.

"Okay," she decided not to argue that point any longer. "What about that horrid music he listens to? It's just screaming and a lot of other noise."

"It's his opinion what he listens to and what he plays," Claire said stubbornly.

"What are we talking about here?" Zack Lindsey pushed his way in between the two girls.

"Zack, thank God," Cassie sighed. "Please explain to our friend here everything that's wrong with Luke Maddox."

Zack grimaced; it was always a very touchy subject with Claire. He looked nervously between the two and honestly said, "He's…not really your type, Claire. I would never lie to you…you just need to forget him."

"I don't see what's wrong with him!"

Cassie and Zack exchanged a glance. Usually when they try to explain what's wrong with Luke they try to avoid the main reason to avoid any argument. "Well?" she demanded.

"He's a total stoner, okay?" Zack said, then covered his mouth. Cassie averted her eyes.

"He is not!"

"Well, think about who he hangs out with," he went on. "It's a known fact that Charlie does drugs, and the two are best friends. Then there's Sawyer, Liv, Gene…"

"That guy just screams dealer," Cassie added.

Zack nodded in agreement. "Ana, Miles, Linus…"

"Just because they-."

"Claire," Cassie interrupted, knowing exactly where she was going with this. Matter-of-factly, she said, "Most addicts tend to seclude themselves from everybody except for those they do the drug with."

"There are plenty of good guys that like you, why don't you go for one of them?" Zack suggested. Cassie nodded; for a quieter, more bookworm-ish girl, Claire sure did have a lot of admirers.

"I don't care what you guys say," Claire ignored this little fact. "You're my friends and I love you, but it's my choice, okay?"

There was a desperate finality in her voice. The other two sighed, but stopped arguing. "Well, before we go our separate ways," Zack said cheerfully, changing the subject. "Ray just caught up to me and asked if we – being you two, Bridget, and I – would like to attend a bonfire at his house on Saturday."

Claire shrugged and Cassie inwardly cringed. Ray was popular, meaning there were going to be a lot of people there, and she tended to avoid large social gatherings if she could.

"C'mon," Zack said optimistically, as if he had read her mind. "It'll be good for you."

Cassie sighed. "Yes, alright, just get me the details, I'll go."

"Since when are you and Ray friends?" Claire questioned.

Zack grinned. "Oh, we're not very great friends, I think he just wanted to use me as a messenger." Cassie found this funny and laughed, but Claire didn't see the humor in it.

It was a bonfire, right? How bad could that be?

…

Colin wandered down the halls, looking for the cafeteria. So far he had been able to find his classes no problem. Unsurprisingly, he found the cafeteria in a matter of minutes.

Colin wasn't the type of new kid to go sit down and start making friends with whomever he felt like. Even if he was at his old school, he would probably go and sit down on his own. So after he got his tray full of food, he sat at an empty table.

A few minutes passed when suddenly he heard a voice. "Hey, is it okay if I sit here?"

Colin nodded to the boy wordlessly. He sat down. After a few minutes, two others joined him.

"Hey," Iris said. She looked at Colin. She mouthed at Boone: 'who is that?'

He shrugged and turned to Colin. "What's your name?"

"Colin. Cooper. You can call me whatever," he mumbled.

"You're new?" Ray asked. Colin nodded. "Why don't you come to my house on Saturday? I'm having a bonfire…party…thing. It'll be fun, and you won't be the only new kid, so don't worry." Colin shrugged. Ray went on, "Well, if you give me your number I can text you the time and my address."

He monotonously stated his phone number and Boone, Ray, and Iris all programmed it in their phones. "Don't talk much, do you, Cooper?" Iris said cheerily.

"I guess not," he said. He didn't expect them to actually talk to him; he just thought they'd want the nearly-empty table.

"Well, we have to change that!" Iris said. "There's no need to be shy."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said sarcastically. The three friends exchanged a look. Apparently Colin Cooper was not interested in making friends.

…

Bridget sat on her back porch, her head tilted slightly upward toward the night sky. She wasn't sure what to make of the first day of school. It was always the easiest, but she knew it only got harder from there.

Zack had caught up with her during lunch and told her that she was invited to Raymond Jenkins's bonfire this weekend. At first that didn't make sense to her, because Raymond was extremely popular and they hardly ever talked. Then she remembered how Ray was head over heels for Claire and it made more sense.

Now that she had figured that much out, Bridget had to decide something more important.

Charlie was popular as well, so he was going to be there for sure. That made Bridget decide she would go, but how much of a difference would it make? She never talked to him anyway. And he had plenty of other friends he'd be with. She'd just bother him if she talked to him.

But could she just go on wishing she was talking to him, but she can't muster up the courage?

"Howdy, neighbor."

Bridget looked around at the unfamiliar voice. In the darkness she could see a freckly, blonde girl sitting on her fence. This freckly blonde girl was slightly familiar; and then she realized, it was the new student in her Literature class.

"Hey, umm…" Abigail? Adrianna? Andrea?

"It's Amelia," she said, hopping down and sitting beside Bridget. "I moved in last week, it's sad that we haven't met yet…"

"Bridget," she gave her own name. It was slightly uncomfortable talking to someone she didn't know, but she understood that it must be hard for the new girl. Maybe she could make a new friend that night.

Amelia nodded and looked up at the sky as well. "You seem deep in thought, Bridge."

She shrugged. No way in Hell was she going to tell this semi-stranger what she was thinking so deeply about. "This is a common occurrence. I do this whether I'm deep in thought or not."

Amelia smiled. "How can I blame you? It's beautiful out."

There was a moment of silence. "How was your first day?" Bridget took a shot at making conversation. "It must be hard, starting at a new school."

"Not as hard as I thought it'd be," she said. "Most of the people are friendly enough. Some of them are … overly-friendly."

"Let's see, you could be talking about Sawyer, Luke, Steven, Leo…" Bridget thought about the 'friendliest' people in her school.

"Leo," Amelia nodded. "I think that was him."

"Really tan, wavy brown hair, dark eyes?" Bridget questioned. Amelia nodded. "Yeah. That would be Leo. No worries, if you don't want to smack him, then his sister will for you."

Amelia laughed, which Bridget found odd. She hadn't ever said much that had made people laugh, let alone strangers. Amelia said, "Yeah, I met her too. But I think I can take care of him myself."

"I don't know if you want to, he's not the type of person I'd want to associate with," Bridget said hesitantly. He seemed like a good guy, but he had a reputation for being a womanizer. Not to mention he is known to party, drink, use drugs, and most of all, smoke.

"I know what you mean," Amelia said, and Bridget was grateful. She didn't want to go pissing off this person she had just met, who she was actually get along with. "I may be new, but there are some people who seem worse, anyway."

"You are correct," Bridget confirmed. "So who did you meet to make you think that, anyway?"

"No one," she said casually. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up. "I walked by a few guys who were definitely high. You could smell it on them, it was so bad."

Bridget hated to admit that there were several people she could be talking about. "And you have no idea who these guys were?"

"Both of them were really tall, pretty cute too, I hate to say," Amelia described. She hadn't really gotten a good look at them. "For guys, they had kind of long hair…one blonde, one light brown. One shouted at me in a Southern accent, something I'd rather not repeat."

"Sawyer," Bridget nodded confidently. "Other one must've been Steven, they're kind of inseparable. Yeah, pretty much everyone in their crowd is like that."

Amelia shook her head in disapproval. "I'm not going to lie to you, if they didn't totally and obviously abuse the stuff, I wouldn't really mind. If it was just every once in a while…"

Bridget nodded. Either way she didn't support the idea, but she knew what her new friend was getting at. "Our school is chaos."

Great. Amelia's new school was crazy.

Maybe she shouldn't have accepted that party invite after all. "Do you know a tall, African-American kid? He's really friendly." Bridget nodded. "He invited me to a bonfire, and I said yes, because I thought it'd be a good way to get to know people. Is he…?"

Bridget shook her head. "No, Ray's a good guy, he really is. I'm going to that too. There'll most likely be a bunch of that crowd there though, because he's pretty good friends with him." She hated to admit that Charlie was part of that crowd, but Amelia didn't need to know that right now.

"I guess we'll just have to see how that goes when we get there," Amelia said. Bridget liked that attitude. She smiled, and for some reason, talking to Charlie didn't seem like that big of a deal anymore. After all, she could just see how it goes when she gets there.

**Yay! That's all the OC's. Actually, submissions are still open, so if you want to submit any more, go right ahead. If I do get any more, I won't accept many though. If you're interested, I'd really appreciate another new student. Maybe some more drinkers/druggies/ 'bad' boys or girls. And I'd just like to say that the comment about Luke's music being "screaming and a lot of other noise" is not true at all. I do not believe that. I happen to love Iron Maiden! Anyway, please review!**


	5. And the War Begins

**Okay, it's official: GHL is addicted to writing again.**

"Okay, where is that damned Martinez?" Raymond demanded of the team.

"I'm right here!" Mimi shouted from the bleachers where she was waiting with the cheerleaders.

Raymond rolled his eyes. "Where is Leonardo Martinez?"

"Last time I checked he was chatting up that new blonde girl," Scarlett said from where she and the rest of the cheerleaders were waiting, bored, on the bleachers.

"Isn't he still dating Liv?" Raymond asked of her.

Scarlett shrugged. "Well, yeah, but it's not like Liv's an angel herself."

"What Olivia doesn't know won't hurt her," Leo said, showing up out of nowhere.

"Yeah, but what Liv does know will hurt you," Ray muttered his breath. "Where have you been? Wait, we already established this. Go change!"

Leo raised his hands in defeat and headed back toward the changing rooms. Raymond rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. "Alright guys, do some layups till what's-his-name get's back, then we'll talk strategy."

"Question!" Steven yelled as the rest of the team did what they were told.

"What?"

"Didn't we have a coach last year?" he asked.

"We have a coach this year, but he isn't attending these before-school practices," Ray informed him. "Because technically, these aren't scheduled practices. I just think our team could use all the practice we could get."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steven asked jokingly.

"Yeah, the cheerleaders are supposed to have the field this morning," Scarlett said, shooting Raymond a jokingly dirty look.

"We're good, Steven, but this year we're going undefeated," Raymond explained.

"But what you're saying is, these practices are unofficial, just organized by you because you're the Captain?" Steven questioned. Ray nodded. "Then WHY the Hell am I here?" he shouted, throwing a ball forcefully on the ground, catching it as it bounced up again. He reluctantly went and joined the rest of the team doing layups.

"Hey Chief," Leo emerged from the building again and approached Raymond, stretching his arms behind his head. "What's the scoop?"

"Get out there and warm up," Ray told him.

"That sounds like fun," Leo said, but nonetheless he ran out and joined the rest of the team. Raymond, on the other hand, sat at the bleachers with the cheerleaders and Mimi.

"I'm sorry we kind of stole this from you," Raymond said to Scarlett.

She shrugged. "We've pretty much got everything down that we need to. For everything else, we have plenty of time before football season."

"That reminds me, how are some of the boys doing basketball and football and soccer and everything?" Mimi asked.

"Well, basketball games don't start until football and soccer seasons end," Raymond explained. "So it's possible. But, as for people doing both football and soccer…they'd have to pick one or the other. I think Sawyer, Steven, and Jack had to do that."

"Wow, that's kind of lame," Shannon commented, watching the team.

"Well, they're over-enthusiastic, those three," Raymond said. "I should go be captain; I'll see you all later." He hopped up from the bleachers and jogged over to the court where he started talking to the team.

"So Shan," Scarlett said as soon as he was on the court. "You still have the hots for him?"

Shannon glared at her. The two cheerleaders had a very strange relationship – one second they could be best friends, and the next, they hated each other. She said nothing.

"I don't think he likes Claire anymore," Scarlett went on, an evil grin on her face. "I mean, he's got to be over that. What do you say, Rutherford? Better snatch him up before someone else does."

"S, why haven't you made a move on Sawyer, hmm?" Shannon tried turning it around on her. "Oh, that's right, he's still dating Juliet."

Scarlett scowled. So that's the way they're going to play it, huh? "That's okay if he still likes Claire though. You always have your friend Sayid to turn to. I guess that's where the phrase 'friends with benefits' comes in."

"Sayid is my friend, nothing more, thank you," Shannon said coolly.

"Oh really?" Scarlett said. "Because word on the street is he's got it bad for you."

"You can never trust word on the street," Shannon retorted. "But if we are taking rumors as true, what's all this I hear about Steven? Seems to me like he's got a real yearning for you, if you know what I mean."

Mimi listened from afar as they bickered back and forth. She made a mental note to thank Scarlett; Mimi could do a lot of damage with this information.

And she intended to.

…

Brandon dragged his drum set, in pieces, through the halls of the school, with the help of his best friend Luke, who made it obvious that he didn't want to be there.

"I'm so tired!" Luke whined for what seemed to be the 100th time. "Why'd you make me come here early?"

Brandon rolled his eyes. Sometimes his best friend could be really, really retarded. "What do you mean why? I'm pretty sure we're definitely bringing my set into the band room."

"Yes," Luke agreed. "But why'd you make me come here early?"

"Shut up!"

"Wow, a guy asks a simple question, and -."

"Dude, SHUT UP!" Brandon yelled, stopping in his tracks. Luke was silenced and also halted. "Do you hear that?" he whispered. His friend nodded. It was, unmistakably, a bass drum. A rather fast bass drum.

"Who's playing the double bass?" Luke asked.

"How would I know? C'mon," Brandon said, and the two continued on their trek toward the band room. As they grew nearer, sounds of cymbal and snare joined in with bass.

"Whoever it is, he's pretty good," Luke commented.

"He's not bad," Brandon said, struggling to open the door with his hands full of his disassembled drum parts. He stopped in the doorway, causing Luke to run straight into his back. "Or she."

"Seriously?" Luke peered around his shoulders, eyes wide at the girl behind the kit, who was so into her playing that she didn't even notice the two boys enter the room.

Silently, the two boys dumped the pieces of the drums carefully on the ground for now. Luke made his way into the storage room, where he quietly grabbed the electric guitar and plugged it into an amp. Still, the girl continued playing. The guitarist closed his eyes, listened to the beat for a second, and then began playing a guitar riff that complimented the drums.

The drummer faltered for a second in surprise, but then continued going. Brandon smiled at how good it sounded and began assembling his drums as well. Once they were set up he joined in, starting with a very complicated fill.

At this point the first drummer dropped out. She mumbled, "How many people are behind me?" and whirled around on her revolving chair. Slowly, Luke and Brandon came to a halt too.

"Well, this just got awkward," Luke said once silence took over.

"What are you guys doing here?" the girl sneered.

"Funny you should ask," Brandon said, standing up and setting his drumsticks down. "I bring my own set for band because that thing's a piece of shit," he pointed to the one that the girl was sitting at. "What are you doing here, and more importantly, who are you?"

"I'm Sophie, and I'm practicing," she said, standing up and edging toward the door.

"Hey, you can stay a bit," Brandon said, noticing this movement. "Don't mind us."

She sat on a desk and watched his drums warily. "Well, go right ahead."

Brandon shifted uncomfortably but sat back down. "Play along if you know what it is," he muttered to Luke, who nodded, knowing this routine. Brandon started out with a fast paced alternating rhythm.

Luke caught on immediately, and after letting his friend solo for a little, started on the main guitar riff. The two sounded very natural together, then suddenly –

"Faster than a bullet, terrifying scream, enraged and full of anger, he's half man and half machine…"

The two instrumentalists stopped and looked at the third, as if they had forgotten she was there. She stared right back at them, wondering why they had stopped. Finally, she asked, "What?"

"You sing?" Luke asked.

Sophie shrugged. "If I know the words."

"You like _Priest_?" Brandon questioned in surprise.

"Love them," she said, grabbing at her neck. She pulled out from under her shirt a razorblade necklace, from their British Steel album. Brandon and Luke looked at each other in a pleasant surprise. "You going to play or what? School starts in a few minutes."

The boys started where they had left off, Sophie singing quietly along.

…

"Damn it," Amelia muttered under her breath, kicking her locker in frustration. These locks were completely different from those at her old school, and they were really getting on her nerves.

"Having trouble?" she looked around. A tall, blonde-haired by who looked vaguely familiar to her stood with his hands in his jean pockets and a dimpled smile on his face.

"Um, kind of," she muttered, wondering where she had seen him before. She looked at the ground, not comfortable with his stare.

"What's yer combo? I'd be happy ta help ya out," he said.

Amelia forced herself to meet his blue eyes. She couldn't let this side of her take over again. But something about his gaze made her feel unsafe. "Don't worry, I aint gonna steal yer valuables or go telling everybody or nothin'," he pressed on.

"20-37-14," she muttered. He opened the locker for her. "Thanks…"

"I don't believe I caught yer name," he said. She told him. "Thanks. You got a cell, darlin'? I'd love ta text ya sometime."

Amelia had an excuse, now, to look away. She took out her phone and programmed his number in as he programmed hers. She pretended to take a long time with it so she wouldn't have to look up at him again.

"Sawyer!" a tall guy yelled and grabbed the guy's arm. "C'mon, man, Liv and Scarlett are waiting for us outside."

Sawyer. Amelia looked up at that name, remembering what her friend Bridget had said last night. She caught the eye of his friend for just a second; she recognized the very light blue color, and she could tell that they used to be very beautiful but something had happened.

"Alright, alright, keep those hormones under control," Sawyer muttered. "See ya later, Rose Red," he gave her a wink. Amelia looked down; the book at the top of her collection was her favorite, Rose Red by Stephen King.

She was pretty sure she had just run into the very same drugged out Sawyer and Steven that Bridget had told her about.

…

As Brandon's class arrived at the computer lab, he scooted away from his normal group of friends and instead sat by two of the quieter, brainier students of the class; Zack Lindsey and Cassie Scoresby. The two of them looked surprised to see him in their Honors Writing and Composition Class, and even more surprised to see him sitting near them.

"Hey man," Brandon said to Zack, who nodded in response.

Cassie was always surprised at the kind of people who talked to Zack. First Raymond invited them to his party (albeit because of Claire), then Brandon ditches his normal friends to be by the two of them. She had a sneaking feeling this had something to do as well.

"So tell me," Brandon said, clearly not paying any attention to his schoolwork. "You and Claire."

Bingo.

"No," Zack responded, sighing.

"No?"

"There is no me and Claire," he said, sounding very rehearsed. "She's my best friend and I love her and we do everything together. She's my best friend. That's all."

Brandon looked very satisfied and allowed them to work for a minute. "In that case, you would know what kind of things she sees in a guy, right? Or more specifically, who she has her eye on?"

Now Cassie was beginning to get interested. All this was making no sense; Claire was into Luke, and Luke and Brandon were best friends. Charlie and Luke were already competing for her affection…was it possible that Brandon was thrown in the mix as well? _Not that he's much better for her_, Cassie thought to herself. _He and Luke are pretty much the same person._

Zack eyed him suspiciously. "Yes, I do know."

"And as a friend, you'd never betray her trust and tell me," Brandon said as if it were obvious.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," he said.

"Understandable," he nodded. After another second, he said, "How open is Claire about her feelings?"

Cassie was about to open her mouth and say it's so obvious, but she decided to keep her mouth shut and see where this conversation was going. Zack, however, said, "She'll tell her friends then talk nonstop about him." How true.

"Well, I appreciate the -," Brandon began as his companion opened a folder.

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Zack interrupted, clearly not paying attention to what his dreadlocked associate was saying. He was trying to pry the folder apart. "That redheaded demon glued my folder shut!"

"Lewis?" Cassie and Brandon questioned at the same time. Zack nodded, scowling.

"That's just asking for revenge," Brandon went on; clearly, evil thoughts were running through his mind.

"No, we always do stupid things like this to each other," Zack explained exasperatedly. "'Revenge' is more of a step up from what we're doing."

"Didn't know she had it in her," Brandon said, watching warily as the folder was finally pulled apart.

"That girl's full of surprises," Zack said.

Brandon smiled. "You're not half bad, Linds. Tell you what," he said, lowering his voice as the teacher walked past. "I'll help you get revenge, just for the heck of it."

"I told you, it's not revenge," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Brandon waved it off.

"Enough talking, Nunez, Lindsey!" the teacher snapped.

"I'll catch up with you later," Brandon muttered, shooting the adult a dirty look. He snuck back over to where his normal group of friends were lounging around.

"What the heck was that about?" Cassie said as soon as he had gone.

"Honestly?" Zack questioned, watching him sit down and talk naturally with the guys. "No idea. You don't think he…"

"Not when Luke and Charlie…" Cassie said, glad her suspicions were shared.

They stared at each other for a moment, then laughed and said, "No way!"

…

Mimi headed down the hallway, in a rather good mood. In the course of a few months, she and Shannon had turned from best friends to bitter enemies. And since the change, Shannon had taken up every opportunity to piss her off.

Mimi was tired of it.

"Hey Raymond!" she said cheerfully as she past him.

"Hey Mimi," he replied.

"Oh, I've been meaning to talk to you about something," she stopped walking, speaking as if she had just remembered. He looked at her in confusion. "I just happened to hear that Shannon Rutherford had a bit of a crush on you…I was wondering if you could shine some light on this rumor."

Ray's brown eyes widened in shock. "Um…I haven't heard anything about it, actually," he muttered, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Oh," Mimi said, acting surprised. "Well, yeah, she really likes you. I mean, she really does. She thinks you're really cute and funny and nice. I thought you would have known. I hope things won't be extremely awkward when you talk to each other now. Bye!"

She left Raymond standing in a very confused state, a satisfied smile on her face. She headed into her Theatre II Class and sat down beside Scarlett.

"Okay girl, you are officially awesome," she said. Scarlett turned to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you talking to Rutherford this morning about who she likes," Mimi explained. "So I thought I'd run it by him, just to see the reaction."

Slowly, a smile similar to the one on Mimi's face appeared on Scarlett's. "Oh, man, they're never going to be able to talk to each other again after this!" The two high-fived.

"You have to tell me what happens tomorrow if they talk," Mimi said.

Scarlett nodded vigorously. "He's definitely the type of guy to be very…awkward, in this situation," she said, imagining how he would react if she talked to him.

"Ohh, she's going to kill us," Mimi said, still giggling.

"She'll try," Scarlett corrected.

…

Zoey didn't know the girl beside her, but she was really starting to piss her off. For the past fifteen minutes she'd been trying to hold back a comment but it couldn't be done any longer.

"Do you think you're cool or something?"

Ana Lucia looked over from where she was talking to some friends, though they'd been given time in class to work. Now, Zoey would normally be the one disrupting the peace, but she was new at the school, and didn't think she had much to start with.

Ana gave her a look of disgust. "Who the Hell are you?"

"I don't think it matters," Zoey said. "But I was just wondering if you'd care to shut your face."

"Excuse me?" Ana gasped in shock. By the looks of the people around them, no one spoke to this Latina like that. But then again, Zoey didn't really care.

"I'd really appreciate if you would, you know, not talk."

"Okay, look, babe," she said threateningly. "I'm not sure who you think you are –."

"I'm pretty sure I'm Zoey Rahim," she interrupted.

"-and I don't really care," Ana continued as if she was not interrupted, but it was clear by her eyes that she was getting angrier. "It's not my fault I happen to have a social life and, uh, you don't."

"Try saying that again. I dare you," Zoey scowled, her fists clenched.

Ana opened her mouth defiantly right as the door opened and the teacher reentered. Cheerfully, the teacher said, "So how's it going, class? Any questions?"

The entire class mumbled something in unison and was silence. There was one final dirty look shared between the girls.

…

Iris wandered through the halls, barely acknowledging those who greeted her. It had been a long summer, and it had felt like forever since she'd seen one of her closest friends.

Now, many people were rather surprised at how close Iris and Faraday had become the previous year at school. Not everyone knew the whole story behind it, though. It had been an ordinary day at school when she found Daniel nearing death, and she had wasted no time in getting the nurse, who rushed him to the hospital.

Iris had met up with him a few times over the summer, but in her opinion, not enough. They didn't share any classes this year, as it turns out, but she still knew just where to find him.

"Hey stranger," she said, already smiling as she found him in one of the science labs, exactly as she had expected.

He jumped at the sound of someone's voice, but then smiled. "Iris…hey. Um, what are you - ?"

"I came to find you," she said, her face feeling warm. What was this? The toughest girl in the school was blushing because the nerdiest guy in school was talking to her? It didn't feel right, but at the same time, it did.

"Oh, um, well, I was just looking through the-."

"Oh, Daniel, you know that I'll have no idea what you're talking about," Iris interrupted, her face still lightened by the smile, so she knew it didn't sound rude.

Dan gave a nervous a laugh. "So, are you staying after too?"

"Well, I don't know," Iris shrugged. "I was going to ask if you'd like to help me out with this Physics homework…Advanced Placement really doesn't mess around, so much homework on the second day."

"I can try," he said modestly.

"Cool," she said, her smile growing wider. If that was even possible. "Umm, if you want to drop by my house as soon as you're done here, that'd be great, but I think I'm going to head home right now."

"Oh, this can wait," he said immediately, grabbing his bad. "I'll walk with you."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Oh, okay." The two headed out of the school together.

**So, by the looks of it, we're going to have a few wars starting soon. Shannon vs. Mimi and Scarlett, and Charlotte vs. Brandon and Zack. Speaking of Brandon, what's the deal with him asking about Claire…? And this mysterious Sophie chick who's totally HEAVY METAL. And Leo's dating Liv O.o. Who would've guessed.**

**Anyway, I'll take a coupe more characters. 'Nough of the bad kids, though. I need some sweeter, nerdier types. I'm adding another of mine who shall be included in the next chapter. I'm thinking one more chap, before the bonfire. Review please!**


	6. With New Friends Come New Enemies

**Woo! I'm confident that I have enough characters now. This chapter is more of an introducing-the-final-characters chapter, then I'll have the bonfire.**

Shannon was not pleased.

She stormed through the halls in search of Scarlett. Did she really go as far as telling Raymond that Shannon had a thing for him? She had no idea she could sink that low. And she was going to get some payback.

"Shan, what's up?" someone said, concern showing on her face under red hair. It was pretty obvious that Shannon was in a bad mood, but most people wouldn't dare ask why.

"That bitch Calvazara!" Shannon shouted throughout the hall. "She sunk way too low this time. Have you seen her, Amy?"

Amy hesitated. "Shannon, I don't think it was Scarlett. Entirely." Amy knew nothing about it, really, but she knew that Shannon and Scarlett could be friends at times. And though they constantly did things to drive each other crazy, she'd never actually do that. Right?"

"Then who could it have been?" Shannon demanded.

"Well…" Amy had no idea. "I don't know. Who has a grudge against you?"

Shannon thought for a second. "I don't know, Mimi, for one, but I never talk to her, I don't know how she could have found out -."

"Shannon, she was at practice yesterday when S was talking about it," Amy realized suddenly. It was true; she had been dropped off early with her brother and just hung out and watched the practice. "Remember?"

Shannon's jaw dropped. "Okay, seriously? First, she makes out with my man last year, now she ruins my chances with Ray?"

"That's low," Amy said bitterly. "What're you going to do about it?"

"I don't know, but I have to do something," Shannon said, thinking. "And you're going to help me."

"I'm going to - ?"

"Of course you are," Shannon said. "We can't let her get away with this. Right?"

"Right," Amy said, glad that her companion hadn't noticed the hesitation in her voice.

The two walked down the halls, talking quietly amongst themselves, when suddenly a guy reached out and tapped the blonde's shoulders. "Hey, Shan."

"What do you want, Boone?" she demanded, clearly not wanting to talk to him.

"Whoa. Temper," he said, taken aback by her tone. She scowled. "Anyway, you've got some dirt on you."

"Oh my God!" Shannon squealed, examining her top. "Where?"

"Right there," he replied, pointing directly at Amy.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what, Carlyle, I really don't need this from you."

Amy was ignored. Boone said to his sister, "C'mon. I know you can do better than that. Why don't you hang out with Alex or Scarlett or something?"

"Don't mention her name to me," Shannon gritted her teeth.

"Uh oh!" Boone exclaimed. "Drama alert. What'd she do?"

"None of your business!" Amy growled, grabbing Shannon's arm and practically dragging her away. "Come on, Shan. We have business to discuss."

If Amy wasn't so worried about fitting in, she'd ditch Shan's drama and dealing with her devilish stepbrother in a heartbeat.

…

"Dom. Hey, Dom. Dom? Dominic! DOMINIC!"

Brandon finally settled for pulling the headphones out from under his friend's brown hair while screaming his name. The other guy jumped, pausing his MP3 player. "Is this important?" he questioned, turning from where he was gazing off into space.

Luke and Brandon exchanged a glance. "We couldn't help but notice that – how should we put this?" Brandon asked.

"You staring at those girls in a lustful manner?" Luke suggested.

"It's Shannon, isn't it?" Brandon questioned.

"I don't know, it could be Hart," Luke said thoughtfully, watching them walk down the halls, talking quietly. "I'd give her at least a seven. If she had kept her hair blonde it'd be closer to an eight."

"Really? I must say I'm partial to the red," Brandon said.

Dominic was silent. It seemed the two had forgotten the real meaning behind this conversation, but that was perfectly fine with him. After all, Brandon had enough under his belt to worry about, what with setting up Luke and Claire. It's not like Dom really had a chance with Shannon, _really_…

"Amy's hot, but I mean, Shannon's got to be, like, a 5000," Luke said.

"Definitely hottest in the school," Brandon nodded. Dominic wished he hadn't been reminded of how popular his crush really is.

"Iris and Scarlett are up there, though," Luke pointed out.

Brandon nodded again. "Still, I have to say Rutherford's got them all beat."

"Hey guys?" Dominic finally interjected, tired of his friends discussing girls 24/7. If it wasn't girls it was music. And he really didn't want to think about how hot Shannon was – it made him feel like he had even smaller of a chance. They turned to him, talking ceased. "Can you stop being total pigs for like, ten seconds?"

"This is important!" Luke defended.

"Yeah!" Brandon agreed. "We were…" he paused, and looked at the other. "Why were we talking about Shannon and Amy again?"

Luke thought for a moment. Then he exclaimed in realization, "Because Dom's got the hots for one of them!"

"Shut up!" Dominic scolded, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. If it had been him shouting about Luke's undying love for Claire, he'd get shoved in a locker by his best friends or something.

"Okay, okay, just tell us," Luke said, his voice lowered significantly.

"Shannon," Dominic muttered embarrassedly, looking at the floor.

"Ha! Knew it," Brandon punched the air in celebration. "Okay. So here's the plan. Luke and I will take a huge container of mayonnaise and –."

"Okay I see where you're going with this," Luke interrupted. "But haven't you, um, heard?" He glanced at Dominic, hoping that he had heard. Because Luke hated to be the bearer of bad news. The two just stared at him. "Well, apparently, as I'm to understand it, it's very possible that, according to Liv, who heard from Leo, who was told by his sister…"

"Get to the point!" Dominic and Brandon shouted impatiently.

"Shannon likes Raymond!" Luke said, glancing at Dominic, waiting for a response.

He was not, entirely, surprised. Ray was the captain of the basketball team, Shannon, a beautiful cheerleader. It was a match made in heaven, was it not? He had known from the beginning he didn't really stand a chance. How could he, against Raymond?

"But I also heard from Gene, who was told by Steven, who heard it from Sawyer, who heard it from Raymond himself, that he's not interested," Luke added.

Dominic smiled. There was still hope.

"How could he not be interested?" Brandon asked. "She's so…" he paused, earning a glare from Luke. He indicated Dominic. "Oh, right. Nevermind."

Dom rolled his eyes. Sometimes, the intelligence level of his two best friends shocked him beyond belief.

…

"No, I really don't like the whole new setup of Mugglenet," Sam Johnston shook his spiky-haired head. "Every time someone changes a web page design, it just confuses people."

"I think it's better," Dixion Ford said. "It's simpler, and I really like the new additions they have."

"Oh, additions I don't mind," Sam gave him that. "But I think they could've kept the same layout and added all the things. I'm really glad they added things like Trivia and Did You Know and Calendar, though."

"Oh, that reminds me," Dixion said. "Did you see that Dan Radcliffe thought that Canadian pop singer was a chick?"

"I still think he's a chick," Sam said.

"Who, Justin Bieber?" Zack asked, emerging from the locker rooms and into the gym where slowly, students were gathering, changed. The two other boys nodded. "Who thought he was a chick?"

"Dan Radcliffe, the guy who -."

"Plays Harry Potter in the films," Zack finished, nodding. Smiling, he added, "November 19th! I can't wait."

"We are so all going for the midnight showing," Sam said, high-fiving the other two.

"Boys, get out your cameras!" Brandon announced, putting his arms around Sam and Dixion's shoulders as he, too, emerged from the locker room.

Zack grinned. "Have you been spying, Bran?"

"Only a little," he admitted. "But enough to hear that our friend Charlotte is not pleased with her new gym attire. Unfortunately, the teacher says she'll have to deal with it until a new order comes in."

"What did you two do?" Dixion questioned suspiciously.

Neither answered; they didn't have to. At that very moment, Charlotte and an unfamiliar tall girl emerged from the locker room.

"Shut your mouth, Zoey!" Charlotte shrieked, her arms folded across her body, blushing.

"Oh, come on girl," Zoey snickered. "I think it's a good look for you."

Usually, the girls' gym shorts ended right above the knee, so they were comfortable for running around and stuff.

Charlotte's were only a few inches long, shakily cut. And the shirt wasn't much better. The sleeves were cut short and tattered, the neck was turned into a very low V-neck, and it was cut a few inches short so her stomach showed slightly.

And though the school colors were grey and green, the shirt had been dyed orange and the shorts, a very lime green. They clashed perfectly.

"I swear, Zoey, you better shut your mouth…" Charlotte growled.

"Or what?" Zoey was still laughing. "You look like a carrot."

Charlotte's fists clenched, her attention was caught by the boys, who had begun whistling at her. She stormed over to their side of the gym and right up to Zack's face. "You did this," she hissed.

"I helped!" Brandon said immediately as Zack was breathless with laughter.

Charlotte looked at Brandon in rage, raised her clenched hands, and punched him in the face. His laughter stopped for just a second, then he grinned. "I deserved that."

"You," she spat at Zack, "are going to wish you were never born." She twirled around and headed back to her side of the gym, where even some of the girls were laughing at her.

"That sounds serious," Sam said. For a second all of them were in silence and then they all started laughing.

"Hey baby, don't be a tease, just take it all off!" a tall new kid shouted. She glared and did nothing else.

"They're all dead," she muttered bitterly

…

Bridget and Amelia wandered down the hallways, headed toward their next class. "Hey, what's happening here?" the latter wondered aloud, pointing at a huge, yelling crowd obstructing the way to the class.

Bridget sighed. "I'd assume it was someone getting in a fight."

Amelia's blue eyes widened. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"I'm not going in there, I'll get killed," Bridget said defensively.

Amelia, however, was strongly built. She pushed her way through the audience and into the center of the crowd, where she saw none other than her new admirer, Leo Martinez, in a serious fight with the new kid who'd shouted at Charlotte in gym.

She locked eyes with Mimi from across the fight and both of them jumped in; Amelia somehow grabbed hold of Leo's arms and Mimi took his opponent's.

Both pairs struggled for a moment before they each locked eyes with who had a hold of them. "Well, well, well, we meet again," Leo said charmingly to Amelia as if he completely forgot that they were fighting.

"This isn't exactly how I'd next expected we would meet," Amelia murmured darkly.

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean, darling," he winked at her again. Disgusted, Amelia dropped hold of his arms and strode back over to where Bridget was. Disheartened, Leo through his competitor a dark look.

At the same time as when Leo and Amelia were talking, the unidentified kid and Mimi had been in a conversation themselves.

"Hell, if you wanted me this badly, all you had to do was say something," he said cheekily.

"Keep dreaming," Mimi scowled. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, still fighting to get his arms free from her grip.

"Yeah, I kind of want to know the name of the guy who was brawling with my brother," she said. He froze. This was a situation he hadn't expected to get into.

"You're…his sister?" he muttered

"Twin sister," she said, throwing his arms down. He left them hanging down at his side. "I don't care if you mess with him, he deserves it. But being new, I advise you to be more careful about what you get into."

She haughtily turned around and, the crowd slowly dispersing, left down the hallway, with Colin staring after her, not sure how to react.

…

Mimi sat once again in Mrs. Flores's classroom after school, discussing with her the school productions. Mrs. Flores loved her, so it was pretty much a guarantee they would get _Grease_ next year like she had suggested… that is, if all went well this year. It was the first year they would have a musical instead of a play, per Mimi's request.

"I think _Grease_ would attract a huge audience," Mimi said. "Everyone knows it."

"That's because the songs stay in your head forever," Mrs. Flores said.

"That's a good thing."

Slowly the door opened and an unfamiliar boy walked in. "Oh, um, is this a bad time?" he said, stopping in his tracks when he saw Mimi already sitting there.

Mimi rolled her eyes but said nothing. First it was Amelia walking in that very first day, now it was this kid? She couldn't catch a break.

"No, no," Mrs. Flores said, scanning over a note she had on her desk. "Are you Carroll? Memphis Carroll?"

"That's me," he said.

"I understand there was a mix up in your schedule?" she said, more a question than a statement. He nodded. "What exactly is wrong with it?"

"Well, I signed up for choir, but they put me in a study hall," Memphis explained.

"You sing?" Mimi said curiously before she could help herself.

Memphis met her eyes for a moment then looked away. "I – yeah, a bit."

"Good. We need a lot of male roles for our musical this year," Mrs. Flores said.

"Oh, well, I don't know if I'd want to…"

"Oh come on!" Mimi said encouragingly. "If you've got the voice, at least try out. There aren't many boys interested in getting up onstage and singing, and _Guys and Dolls_ needs a lot of male parts."

Memphis smiled. "Well, that _is_ my favorite musical."

"You have plenty of time to think about it," the teacher said. "The actual performance isn't until the spring, so tryouts aren't for a few months yet." She stood up. "I'll have to go talk to the secretaries in the office about your schedule change, so, I'll leave you to it." She left the room.

"I will think about it," he agreed. Mimi understood his hesitance; as a new student, getting up onstage must be rather uncomfortable. But she could not allow the musical to be called off because there weren't enough guys trying out.

"Either way, we'd love to have you in choir," the teacher went on.

"What kinds of things do we do?" he asked curiously, taking a seat.

"Our first concert is in October," Mimi answered for him, sounding very rehearsed. Memphis could tell singing meant a lot to her. "That's going to be a through-the-decades medley, basically just singing a few minutes of 3 popular songs from each decade since the 50s. Winter, of course, is winter songs…"

"That gets old fast," he said seriously but smiled nonetheless.

Mimi shrugged. "We don't do your typical Rockin' Round The Christmas Tree type carols. We try to shake things up a bit."

Memphis nodded in understanding and said nothing for a moment, then looked at her in curiosity. "What was your name, again?"

"They call me Mimi," she replied, finding herself smiling. "And you're Memphis?"

He nodded. "I hate how everyone can remember my name because I'm just one person, but then I have to learn hundreds of people's names. Not fair."

She laughed. "I can see how that gets annoying," she agreed. "I moved here from Mexico when I was 14, and I remember being really confused."

"Mexico?" he questioned. She nodded. "Wow…that makes moving here from Washington look like nothing. I thought California was exotic."

"Well…there's nothing like life here in Los Angeles," Mimi said hesitantly.

"I'm sure in a few weeks time I'll know exactly what you're talking about," he said. He stood up. "Well I should probably go, I told my parents I wouldn't stay here long…"

"Oh, yeah, my brother's waiting, I'll come too," Mimi said, grabbing her bag and walking out of the building with Memphis. She slowly swerved toward the basketball courts where she could see Leo shooting, waiting.

"I'll see you later, Mimi," he said cheerfully, waving as he went toward his car.

"Yeah…see you!" she called back as she arrived at the courts.

"Who's the blondie?" Leo nodded toward Memphis's retreating form.

"Memphis, he's new this-," she began, but Leo had heard all he needed to hear.

"MIMI LOVES MEMPHIS!" he shouted. She punched him, hard, in the arm.

"Shut up, I just met the kid like, five minutes ago," she growled, but there was no doubt a slight blush creeping up her face. "Get in the car, you idiot. I know you don't want to explain to Mom how you got those bruises but it's got to be done."

Leo scowled this time as he got in the driver's seat. Mimi sat beside him. "That little punk was asking for it."

"Of course," Mimi said sarcastically as the car pulled out of the parking lot.

**Okay, that's officially ALL of the characters! I know we don't really know them all that well yet, but, here's a few questions for you:**

**Which OCs would your OC get along with?**

**Which OCs would your OC clash with?**

**Which OCs would be possible temporary love interests, or even a final for your OC?**

**And finally, what would you like to happen to your OC at the bonfire?**

**NEXT CHAPTER GUYS. I'm excited. Are you excited? And by the way, I loved writing the nerd scene about Harry Potter. I'm a slight Harry Potter nerd myself so…okay I'm obsessed. Anyway. Review please!**


	7. It's Getting Hot Up In Here

**Alright, here it is. It took me longer than usual because…well…I'm a huge music person, I went to a concert, and decided to be obsessed with them for a few days, to put it quite simply. Ha. Here you are!**

Raymond could not wait to get his mom out of the house. She was getting on his nerves - ever since he could have been killed in that car accident she was very protective over him. How fair was that, when another member of the family was in the military? Plus, he was five when it had happened...things had changed. In fact, she was just lucky he'd even told her about the party tonight.

"Mom, can you just trust me? I can handle this," Raymond sighed.

"I do trust you," she said in a very motherly way. "But I don't trust all teenagers." _As you shouldn't_, Raymond thought to himself. "If I find any evidence of underage drinking or anything like that, none of your friends will ever set foot in this house again, understand?"

"Don't worry about it," Raymond dismissed the subject as if none of his friends would ever think of consuming alcohol at this age. _We're not stupid enough to leave evidence_…

"Hey, hey, the party's here!" Iris exclaimed, walking in through the front door which Mrs. Jenkins was about to exit through.

"I thought you told me people weren't coming until 6," his mother questioned in a warning tone of voice.

"They're not," Raymond said, shooting a glare at Iris. She shrugged guiltily. "It's just Iris, you should be used to her walking in here like she owns the place by now." She grinned.

"Well, you just make sure he behaves himself," she now directed toward Iris.

"Of course…he's hard to manage but I'll keep him under control," Iris said, earning an eye roll from Ray.

"Be good, you two," she said as a final warning before leaving the house.

"Thank God that's over," Ray said with relief.

"Ray, if she knew what will be going on here, she'd have a seizure," Iris said, hopping onto his couch and turning on the TV.

"One could only hope," he said. "Now why don't you make yourself useful and open up some chips?" he threw a bag at her.

"Holy shit," her eyes widened at the sight of the piles of bags in the kitchen. "How much food do you need?"

"A lot of people are going to be here tonight, Palmer."

"So?" she questioned. "They'll be more concerned with drinking their asses off," there was a very noticeable bitterness in her voice with this last sentence.

It couldn't slip by anyone, especially not Ray, seeing as they were very close friends. "Lighten up," he said in an uncharacteristic easygoing kind of tone. She looked at him. "I mean, I don't approve of substance abuse either, but every once in a while can't hurt."

"Yeah, except for your body because it's bad for you, and your life because it's illegal and you could get in serious trouble for it," Iris said in a responsible tone of voice.

"I'm surprised you're even here," Raymond said, smiling slightly.

"So am I," she said seriously.

Iris reluctantly helped her friend prepare for his party for the next hour before the doorbell rang for the first time of the night. Ray strode to the door and swung it open. "Oh, hey Zack, hey…Claire."

The two guests smiled as he stood aside to let them inside. "Party's in full swing, I see," Zack said sarcastically, his eyes scanning over the room and saw only Iris, who was already snacking on some pretzels at the table. She met his eye and perked up.

"Zack! You ever been here before?" she made her way over to the doorway.

"Can't say I have."

"I'll give you the grand tour," she took his arm and dragged him away before anyone could speak; however, Ray did have the time to shoot her a glare. She just grinned maliciously.

"Can this house hold so many people?" Claire asked, walking around and looking around even though she, unlike her best friend, had been to the Jenkins house before.

"No, but that's what the bonfire is for," he said. "Backyard and first floor of the house…although somehow I doubt it'll be restrained to that much."

"I hate to say you're right," she said, grimacing slightly.

The doorbell rang again, and for this Ray was eternally grateful.

…

"May I have this dance?"

Amelia's heart fell and jumped at the southern voice. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bridget shaking her head furiously, behind Sawyer's back. But then her eyes fell on another person.

Leo.

Dancing with his girlfriend. If you could call drunken fist pumping on a table dancing, then that's definitely what he and Liv were doing. "Sure," Amelia felt compelled to say yes. It slipped out of her lips before she could even think twice.

Sawyer took her hands and off they went to the beat of the music. She saw Bridget walk out of the room. She looked back at Sawyer to find that he was looking at her. Again, she could not meet his eyes and stared at their feet.

"First party of the year, eh, Rosie?" he asked. She was momentarily confused until she remembered their last conversation and the nickname he had bestowed upon her.

"First party at this school," she confirmed, hesitantly raising her head.

"Yer really in fer it," he said warningly, though there was a smirk on his face that Amelia chose to ignore.

"I can see that," she said semiconsciously, her eyes once again on Leo and Liv, who were making out on their table now.

Sawyer followed her gaze. "Those two," he said. "Not Leo as much…well, not compared to Liv. She really is a piece of work."

"So is he," she said, tearing her eyes away. Why did she keep looking over at them?

"In a manner of speakin'," he agreed. The song ended and immediately Amelia let go of his hands. "Can I getcha a drink, darlin'?"

"Yeah, I…" she paused. Remembering that first conversation with Bridget, she changed course. "Uh, no, that's not necessary, but…thanks."

Sawyer shot her a strange look and said. "Okay, well, I'm going to go get one fer me at least." She nodded and he shifted through the crowd.

Amelia wandered off immediately to go find Bridget.

…

Bridget, in fact, had left the dance floor to go get some fresh air. She was not the only one outside, however; most notably there was a group of people including Luke, Brandon, Dom, Gene, Charlie, Steven, and somewhat surprisingly, Zack.

Most people she tended to avoid. Now, despite her temptation, was not going to be an exception. However, her heart dropped to see that only one more seat was open; thankfully, it was next to Zack, who she was relatively good friends with.

Reluctantly she took a seat. Zack turned his attention to her immediately. "Hey, how's it going?" he said with an awkward glance at the crowd he was with.

Bridget raised an eyebrow at his awkwardness. "Good," she said slowly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, totally…" he said, trailing off and not looking her in the eye. This was very unlike him. She shot a very suspicious look over at the other boys, a look that did not go unnoticed by Gene.

"Want anything, hun?" he shouted. "I take cash only…"

Bridget's mouth opened slightly as the boys laughed and looked back at Zack, who shrugged and grimaced. "I don't think I've ever even heard him speak in my life," she whispered.

"It's actually kind of surprising how much he talks," Zack said.

"Why are you with them?" Bridget said bitterly. Although, she felt hypocritical because her heart was beating so fast just being this near to Charlie. "Where's Claire?"

The group of boys next to them quieted down a bit at this question. Zack didn't notice. "I think she's inside with Dixion and Sam." Beside him, Brandon was out of his seat and inside in no time. Zack and Bridget instinctively looked at Luke's reaction, who just shook his black, blue, and red head. Once again, Gene noticed them look over there.

"C'mon, you two, you can't find cheaper prices in all of California!" he said to them.

"I'll pay you to get out of my face," Bridget snapped before she could think twice.

Zack, Charlie, Steven, Dom, and Luke all burst into laughter while Gene looked taken aback. Then he shrugged and said, "I'll take it."

She rolled her eyes and did not answer. "That came out of nowhere," Zack commented.

"He deserves it," she shrugged but smiled. Zack smiled too, but he had no idea that she was smiling because Charlie had laughed at what she had said. It was definitely worth coming here for that.

…

Normally Colin wasn't the type of person to approach a girl, or anyone really, just to talk. But when he had talked to her the other day something about her interested him. He spotted her in a chair in a corner.

"Hey," he said. She looked up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused from drinking, but she seemed to recognize him. "I don't think I got your name the other day?"

"'Zat a question?" she said, swaying in her seat slightly.

"Yes, I suppose so," Colin felt like taking a drink as well. He picked one off the nearest table and offered one to the girl too. She took it.

"I'm Mimi," she said. He was glad she didn't hold a grudge against him for the fight yesterday.

"Oh," he said. "I'm –."

"HEY!"

Leo, who had somehow lost Liv, stumbled over to them. "What the Hell do you think you're doing talking to this – this…" he trailed off, unsure of how he intended to finish that sentence.

"Relax," she rolled her eyes. "I don't even know the kid's name, just because _you_ can't make friends doesn't mean _I_ can't."

Leo was not very happy with this statement at all. He threw his half-drunk bottle of beer on the ground, which shattered. Those around them all froze at the sound of the crashing and looked at them. "Okay," he growled. "Why should I care if you associate with filth anyway?" He stomped away the best he could in his drunken state.

Mimi rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, and you are…?"

"Colin," he said, resisting the urge to shout something back at him. Not in front of his sister, at least. "So, what - ?"

"Hey Colin!"

He rolled his eyes. He has ONE friend out of the WHOLE school and that person happens to shout his name at that exact time. "What's up, Boone?"

Boone, as it turned out, was with his stepsister, who paid no attention to the two boys. She and Mimi only exchanged drunken death glares before Shannon finally spoke. "You're so in for it, Martinez."

"Bring it, Rutherford," she hissed back. Shannon pursed her lips but didn't respond. Mimi ignored her presence and let her eyes search the crowd. Little did she know that Shan was following her gaze.

The blonde one smirked and still Mimi didn't notice. She began to walk away and she only noticed when she saw who she had approached.

And offered a drink.

And smiled at.

And he smiled back.

"I don't believe this," Mimi shouted to no one in particular. She stood up and stormed over to where Scarlett was talking with Steven. "I hate to interrupt what I'm sure is an extremely intimate moment but Scarlett and I need to discuss something." Without waiting for Steven's response, she took Scarlett's arm and pulled her aside.

"What, what's going on?" Scarlett noted the scowl on her friend's face in concern.

"Remember that kid I told you about? Memphis?" she asked. S nodded. "Look!" She pointed over to where Shannon was talking with him.

"Whoa he is cute," she said, eyes wide.

Mimi rolled her eyes. "That's NOT what I meant!"

After another moment of looking, Scarlett's jaws dropped. "How? How does she know?"

"I don't know!" Mimi cried. "I guess…" she blushed. "I guess she saw me looking at him," she confessed, to which Scarlett had to smirk at, if only for a second.

"What a tramp," Scarlett crossed her arms and looked deep in thought. "She is not going to get away with this. And what about him? How can anyone THAT good looking be smiling when talking with HER?"

Mimi had to smile, albeit a sad one, at her friend's dedication. She didn't have the heart to remind her that Shannon had yet to get back at Scarlett too. And she had a feeling this was just the beginning.

…

Amy and Piper burst outside and ran toward the nearest group of people which just happened to be made up of Luke, Steven, Charlie, and Dominic.

"Oh my God!" both of the girls squealed at the same time. The boys looked at them, waiting for an explanation.

"You have to see it," Piper said breathlessly.

"Care to elaborate, sweetheart?" Steven said, raising his eyebrow.

"Shannon and Scarlett," Amy began.

"One of them finally cracked, don't know which -,"

"Both of them just started screaming and punching and kicking -,"

"Everyone's inside, come on, come on!"

They ran back inside with the other four on their heels. It was not hard to find; Luke and Steven managed to fight through the crowd and the others just followed them.

"WHORE!"

"SKANK!"

Scarlett took a cup from some poor bystander and splashed some drink all over her foe before diving at her feet and sending both of them crashing to the floor.

In retaliation, Shannon kicked the other in the face, which was no laughing matter when you're wearing high heels. Scarlett stumbled backwards, clutching her now-bleeding mouth while Shannon stood with a smirk on her face.

But it wasn't over. Scarlett dove once again, clawing her bloody manicured nails across Shannon's face, leaving a few deep cuts.

"They're going to kill each other!" Dominic shouted over all the cheering and screaming.

Steven nodded, and simultaneously, they both jumped into the mix and grabbed onto the flailing limbs. After a few minutes of struggle, both girls were restrained; blonde hair wild, faces red, fists clenched, and panting.

"What the _Hell_ is wrong with you two?" Dominic shouted. The room was strangely quiet. Shannon tried to wrench her arms from his grip but he held strong.

"Get – _that_ –," she pointed at Scarlett, blue eyes furious. "Out of my sight."

Scarlett shrieked and twisted and squirmed, but Steven, too was unrelenting. "Hey," he muttered so that no one else could hear. "Don't do this, you're better than she is. You're above this."

He let go of her wrists and she turned, back to Shannon, staring up at Steven, blue eyes into blue eyes. Wordlessly, she broke eye contact and strutted away into the crowd.

Mimi, who was also being held back, only by her brother, because he knew she'd be in that fight as well if she could be, finally got free of Leo's grip and walked away with her.

Dominic now assumed it was safe to let go of Shannon, and he did so. She, too, stormed away, but in the opposite direction. Amy looked for a moment as if she was going to follow, but chose to stick by Piper.

"Well, show's over!" Steven shouted. "Go on! What're you looking at?"

The crowd dispersed.

…

Brandon appeared out of nowhere to discuss the fight with Dominic and Luke. Neither of them noticed his sudden appearance until he spoke. "That was pretty hot, Dom. Shouldn't've let her go, though."

Dominic scowled and Luke said, "Dude, where you been?"

"Oh, I've been around," he said very vaguely. Both of them looked at him suspiciously. He looked in between them. "What? I've been at Ray's house, just like you."

"I don't trust him," Dominic said as if he wasn't there.

"I don't either," Luke agreed.

"Oh, don't you two worry about it," he put his arms around them cheerfully. "Loosen up, boys, this is a party." He picked up two drinks from a cooler and shoved them into their hands. "So party."

…

"Faraday, is this a diary, or something?" Leo shouted, tearing a journal of some sort of Daniel's hands.

Dan sighed. He knew something like this was going to happen, but somehow he had let Iris convince him to come tonight. "It's a scientific journal, and I'd really appreciate it if you would hand it back, please."

"Not just yet, buddy," Leo opened it, staring at the numbers and equations, clearly not understanding any bit of it.

"'Dear Diary,'" Steven was saying, reading over Leo's shoulders, making up some imaginary entry. "'I can't deny it any longer, I know I'm in love with Albert Einstein.'" Leo, Liv, Boone, and Mimi snickered.

"That's very funny, Summers," Dan said exasperatedly.

"Oh, but wait!" Leo exclaimed. "'I know that Einstein is my one true love, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about Stephen Hawking.' Little internal conflict, there, hope that works out for you…" The others roared with laughter.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Iris appeared out of nowhere, looking between them.

"We're just helping Faraday out a bit," Liv explained. "With his secret love affair with Stephen Hawking."

Iris scowled. "You know, I don't find that all that funny."

"Oh, what's this, now?" Steven said. "Faraday's got three lovers now…Einstein, Hawking, and Palmer…"

"Okay, that's really unnecessary," Dan said timidly as Iris grew red with anger.

"Blushing, Palmer?" Liv noticed. "I never would've guessed that you'd have a thing for nerds."

"Just leave him alone, okay?" Iris said, actually, it was closer to shouting and walked away. The others were silenced. She didn't deny it…

"Wait, Iris, do you really like this kid?" Steven had caught up with her. She glanced back at where Dan was – definitely out of earshot. She looked at Steven again, then turned and walked away.

…

Elsewhere, Cassie, Zack, Dixion, and Sam were once again sitting through Claire talking about Luke. All of them had the same irritated look in their eyes that Claire was seemingly oblivious to.

"Claire," Cassie said, running a hand through her dark hair in frustration. "Do you see him right now?" All five of them turned over to where Luke and his friends were gathered. "He's drinking, and that's like, what? His fourth one?"

"I haven't seen him drinking at all tonight besides now," Claire said, that defensive tone of voice emerging once again. "And even I've got a drink, see?" she help up a bottle that she had barely drunk out of.

"Probably because he's been busy getting high!" Dixion exclaimed. Claire shoved him gently but said nothing.

"The night is still young," Sam added. "Once he has one, he's going to have two. Then when he has two, well, it adds up, Claire."

"We're just trying to help you," Cassie said desperately.

"I know," she said. "But I don't think you're right about him." The other four exchanged glances – Claire was just blinded by her crush on him. "And I might actually have a chance with him, so what's the point of waiting this long and giving up now?"

"What makes you think - ?" Zack began.

"Don't get her started," Dixion warned, while Sam and Cassie nodded in agreement.

But it was too late. Claire launched into a story about what had happened a little while ago, in which Brandon had approached her and asked why she wasn't dancing. She had responded that there was no one here she wanted to dance with. He had said, "no one?"

And she had been brave enough to say that, maybe, there was one…and he had told her to just give it a shot, because he knew for a fact that there were a lot of people there who would accept her invitation. And then he vanished into the crowd…

"That could mean anyone," Zack said immediately, though he, too, knew for a fact that it was Luke who would love to dance with her. _And probably do more than dance_…he hated the thought.

…

Now that night had fallen officially, things had really begun to get out of control. Everyone had had enough to consume enough alcohol and narcotics to completely lose their mind, and those who didn't had begun to think it was about time they should leave.

Leo had long since disappeared with Liv to some unknown place but that surprised nobody. Others followed in his path – Luke, much to Brandon's objections, wound up taking Kate somewhere. Gene went off with a new girl named Zoey, Scarlett and Sawyer…

Even Dixion had had a few drinks and was flirting with Amy. Mimi was trailing after Memphis, and Brandon and Sophie looked as if they were getting very friendly.

Raymond, however, was not quite as intoxicated as his guests. He could think straight – at least straight enough to realize how futile it was to be hung up on Claire any longer. He had seen the tears in her eyes and the betrayal on her face when Luke ran off with Kate, the bitterness in her voice when she said goodbye.

So he had to get over her.

"Hey, Shannon," he said, smiling.

Shannon blushed surprisingly. The scratches were still very raw on her pretty face. "Hey, Raymond," she smiled back.

"So…are you doing anything tomorrow?" Ray said before he could hesitate about it.

Shannon's smile grew even wider, making her look very beautiful despite the injuries from Scarlett fresh on her face. "I don't have anything planned right now, no," she answered, trying not to sound too excited.

"Cool," he said. "Do you want to go get pizza or something for dinner with me?"

"I'd love to," she smiled. And Ray smiled too.

Mimi, though still deep in conversation with Memphis, noticed from across the room. And she could not believe her eyes.

**DRAMA! Let me know what you think! Oh, and I forgot last chapter - are any characters singers and would be interested in the musical? I don't really need all the parts, so really just another boy and girl would be fine. Reviews please!**


	8. Times Change

"Dude, my head kills."

"Well that's what happens when you get drunk out of your mind."

Sunday morning Dixion had paid visit to Zack with some important information, and a hangover. "I was not drunk out of my mind," Dixion said. "I'm just not used to having that much alcohol in my system at once."

"It's called a hangover," Zack said, handing him a glass of icy water, which he took gratefully. "Otherwise known as the consequences for drinking too much."

"Now I know why I never did that before," Dixion said, taking a long drink out of the glass. Zack let him drink in silence. "Anyway, where were we?"

"I believe it was something like this," Zack began. "No, you tell her."

"Right. No! You tell her."

"You're the one that told me!"

"I told you so that you can tell her."

"It would have made things so much simpler if you just told her."

"But you're her best friend!"

Zack sighed. Somehow he knew it would come to this. "Okay, I'll tell her," Zack admitted defeat. "But you have to come with me!" Dixion shrugged; as long as he didn't have to be the bearer of bad news, he was okay with it.

The two stood up and headed out into the brilliant sunshine of the early morning. Claire's house seemed much too close, and yet so many thoughts ran through Zack's mind as they made their way over there. She was already so heartbroken…and to add one thing right after another…

Her mother answered the door and immediately retrieved Claire for him. Zack and Dixion waited in complete silence. Claire came to the door, smiling as always, despite everything that had happened last night. "Hey, guys. I didn't expect you to be here so early…"

"Neither did I," Zack said, throwing a contemptuous look at Dixion, who had taken a sudden interest in some potted plants on the front porch. "Listen, I'm going to get straight to the point…Kate and Luke are officially together."

Dixion dove to the ground dramatically, covering his curly-haired head as if preparing for an explosion. Zack, however, determinedly kept his dark eyes focused into Claire's, watching her sleepy brain take in this information.

Claire, however, seemed determined to look unconcerned. After a few moments of no reaction, Dixion felt it safe to peer at them from between his arms. "How nice for them," she said in an uncharacteristically cool tone.

"Sawyer and Juliet had a pretty nasty breakup too," Dixion added from the ground. "Yet he and Scarlett are still 'just friends.'" He was ignored.

"Do you two want to go to the park?" Zack suggested timidly, referring to the local children's park that received more attention from the teens than from the toddlers. He and Claire, however, had been going there together ever since they were young, and it held sentimental value. Hopefully it would lighten the mood.

Claire nodded and the two set off on an all-too familiar path toward the park. Dixion caught up with them moments later. "I'll text Cassie and Sam to meet us there, yeah?" she offered, to which the other two had no objections. In more recent years, the two children had grown, and now it was common for Dixion, Cassie, and Sam to join them.

They arrived within minutes and Cassie and Sam met up with them not long after. "You're looking a little dazed, there, Dixion," Cassie raised her eyebrows at him, who was dozing on a swing. At the sound of his name, his eyes burst open again.

"I didn't get much sleep," he muttered.

"How long did you stay?" Claire asked. She, of course, had been one of the first to go, and Zack had somewhat grudgingly joined her. Cassie, who was not a huge partier herself, found no motivation to stay long into the night either. On any other day Dixion would have been with her but, for whatever reason, he felt that that night was to be the first that he would really get into the drinking. Sam didn't trust him to drive home alone.

"Oh, you know," he said casually. "Actually, I don't even know."

"It was about two in the morning," Sam said bitterly. Dixion shot him a tired, apologetic look.

"How long did most people stay?" Cassie asked, shocked.

"They left either early than us, or not at all," Sam explained. "Out of everyone there, the only ones who were really fit to drive were Iris and I, and we weren't going to be a taxi service for a bunch of drunken teenagers."

"So how many people ended up staying overnight?" Claire asked a little too casually.

"I don't know, about, 20?" he directed this toward Dixion, who nodded his head in confirmation. "Most people just ended up passed out somewhere. It was insane."

"But who stayed?" Once again her tone was much too casual to overlook.

"Well, a lot of them," Dixion said, pointing.

Everyone turned and everyone tensed. They were not the only ones who came to the park commonly as a sort of sanctuary. A group of their classmates, including Sawyer, Scarlett, Luke, Brandon, Dominic, Kate, Gene, Liv, Zoey, Charlie, and Leo, had arrived on the scene.

Zack shot a very concerned look at Claire, who was doing her best to look unconcerned, although Kate and Luke, among others, were standing much too close for comfort. "Anyone in the mood for a little International Pancakes?" Dixion clearly noticed the tension.  
"International pancakes?" Sam questioned skeptically.

"Yeah," Dixion said slowly. "Like, from IHOP."

"Just because it's the international _house_ of pancakes doesn't mean that the pancakes themselves are international," Sam pointed out.

"Well, if the house is in other nations, the pancakes must be too, right?" Dixion said.

"I suppose, but 'international', as an adjective, is modifying 'house', not 'pancakes'," Sam said, sounding smart.

"That's because if they called it the International House of International Pancakes, it'd just sound stupid," Dixion rolled his eyes as if he could not believe how much intelligence his friend was lacking. "IHOIP? They only needed it once."

"Maybe they didn't put international in there for a reason," Sam argued. "Like they didn't want you to think the pancakes were international because they aren't."

"Okay, you're ridiculous."

Zack, Claire, and Cassie were momentarily distracted by their friends' petty argument. But by the time they had reached the conclusion that international pancakes tasted just as good as non-international pancakes, the other group of students had noticed them.

"Zack!" Brandon hurried over to them, while the others hung back slightly. He threw one arm around Zack's shoulders and fiercely tousled his hair. "Hey! What's up, man?"

"We're thinking about going to go and get some debatably international pancakes," Zack told him. He looked confused, but did not press the matter at all.

"I see," Brandon said slowly, clearly showing that he did not at all 'see'. "Let me know if you decide otherwise because I need to talk to you about something." He briefly glanced over at the others, who were looking at him blankly. By this Zack knew he needed to talk to him about something alone. He looked at the others and met Claire's eyes.

"Zack, if you want to stay with them, that's fine," Claire said as if it did not worry her.

"Why don't you all stick around?" Brandon offered reluctantly.

"No, that's fine," Claire shook it away with an instinctive glance at Luke and Kate before any of the others could reply. "Should we get going?" she asked rather hurriedly. The other three complied and Zack was left alone, allowing Brandon to steer him back to where his friends were waiting.

Zack felt like a hypocrite. He disapproved of Claire crushing on Luke, yet now he was beginning to hang out more with him and his friends than the girl who'd been his best friend for life.

"Hey," Luke greeted, then watched the retreating forms of Dixion, Sam, Claire, and Cassie. "No offense, but why'd you join this party?"

He shrugged. "I already ate…so I thought I'd chill with you guys," he answered, not giving the whole truth but not telling a lie. Though he was slowly becoming more comfortable around these people, with the help of the oh so welcoming Brandon, he still didn't feel quite at home. His eyes fell on Zoey, who was absentmindedly chiseling swear words into the paint of the playground. "Do I know you?"

She did not even look up. "You wish you did."

He gave her a strange look, which she didn't see. "I'm sure," he answered slowly.

"So I heard it's supposed to be 110 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday," Liv said with a smirk on her face.

To Zack, this sounded like a most uncomfortable temperature, but it seemed that his feelings were not shared. The others grinned; Charlie punched the air in celebration, and Dominic and Luke high-fived.

Zoey, being new, did not understand this either. "You crazies. I can't stand anything over 90s."

"Ah, but here in Los Angeles, we celebrate the heat," Leo explained. Zoey and Zack looked at him blankly.

"Every year, the first time temperature exceeds 100 Fahrenheit on a school day, we ditch class and head to the beach," Dominic explained, noticing their confusion.

"Hell, no need to tell me twice!" Zoey, for one, seemed excited. "I've never swam in the Pacific before."

"What say you, Lindsey?" Sawyer directed toward Zack.

Zack did not answer right away. He had never cut school, not once, in his entire life. He barely even missed when he was sick.

But, on the other hand…

Zack was a pretty smart kid. Exceptionally, one might say. And it was just one day, was it not? Who wanted to be stuck in school on a day when the temperature hit triple digits, when they could be relaxing in the ocean? "I'm in." His voice sounded more confident than he felt.

"Go ahead and ask any of your friends to come along too," Luke said in the same all too casual tone that Claire was using minutes ago. Zack nodded in agreement, understanding what the true message behind this offer was.

Eventually the group grew bored of sitting around at the park and agreed to go catch a movie. Dominic was hanging toward the back of the group, which was unusual for him, who loved to be in the company of Luke and Brandon at all times.

Zack stalled and ended up in the back as well. He decided to take a stab at it. "He hasn't given up on her, has he?" he said quietly, nodding toward Luke, who was hand in hand with Kate.

"Claire?" Dom muttered back. Zack nodded, and Dominic shook his head. "Not a chance. He's just too stupid to realize that she likes him too and is such a girl maniac that he had to go and swipe Kate."

"Well she's not very happy, and I think she's trying to get over him," Zack said, still keeping their voices down to a mutter.

"You mean like date someone else, like how Ray's now dating Shannon?" There was something pained in Dominic's voice at these words, but Zack put that out of his mind. He couldn't forget the matter at hand.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Zack said, concern in his voice. "Not that I'd fully approve of her dating Luke, either…" He stopped there, remembering who he was talking to.

"He's a good guy," Dominic said honestly. "With some not so good habits."

Zack wasn't sure how much of that he could believe, but Dominic did know Luke more than he did.

…

Colin and Boone had been playing basketball out in the Rutherford's expansive driveway for about an hour in the California heat, so they decided to go inside the huge house to cool off for a moment.

"Take off your shoes," Boone advised as they walked inside. Colin slipped his feet out from his shoes as he scanned the house.

"Seriously?" Colin said, his voice echoing off the walls. It almost made him want to whisper. "Are your parents Hollywood movie stars or something?" His blue eyes looked from the chandelier to the plasma screen TV to the ornately decorated frames on the walls.

Boone chuckled, but it sounded rather dry. "Yeah, um, we get that a lot…"

"We?"

"Shannon and I," Boone replied.

"Wait, Shannon?" Colin questioned. Boone nodded. "As in, tall, blonde, cheerleader, Shannon Rutherford, Shannon?"

"Yes, that would be the one," Boone said, amused.

"Why?"

"She's my stepsister," Boone told him.

"That was unexpected," he said. Two girls' voices could be heard approaching from a distant hallway. He and Boone glanced at each other. "Speak of the devil, eh? Who else is that, your mom?"

"Hell no," Boone shook his head. "Shannon and my mom don't exactly see eye to eye. That's Amy. As in, redheaded, cheerleader, annoying beyond belief, Amy Hart, Amy."

Colin nodded. "But you hate her." Boone nodded in confirmation. "So, why…?"

"Shannon's friend," Boone didn't need him to finish the question. "I can't figure out what's weirder, that Shannon can possibly be friends with Amy, or that Amy can possibly be friends with Shannon…"

"Two negatives make a positive?" Colin halfheartedly suggested a scientific explanation for this. Boone was about to respond, but then the two girls entered the room, talking, and apparently oblivious to the boys' presence.

"I'm leaning toward the red halter top with the cutoff jean shorts," Shannon said. Neither Colin nor Boone knew what she was talking about but they could tell she was making a big deal about something that needn't be a big deal.

"I think so too," Amy agreed, nodding. "You want it to look casual but nicer than usual, and I think that'll fit that category the best."

"Yeah, but I really hate those shorts on me," Shannon whined. "But nothing else matches the red…unless I wear the white shorts?"

"No way, the white shorts make you look fat," Colin interjected in a fake high pitched voice. Boone burst into laughter and the two girls looked at him as if just noticing he was there in disgust.

"Anyway," Amy said sharply, shooting a dark look at Colin. "I think that if you're going with the white shorts you've got to pick the pale blue top to go with it."

"What's the purpose behind this planning, ladies?" Boone asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Amy sneered.

Boone rolled his eyes. "Shan?"

"I have a date tonight," she said, trying to hide her elation.

"Oh, I heard about that," Colin said, smiling wickedly. "Raymond, am I correct?" Shannon did not answer. "I know I am. Last night at the party…yeah. So, what? Was he completely drunk when he said it? That's the only explanation I could think of."

Boone made no attempt to hide his snicker. Amy and Shannon glared at both of them. "You guys are so immature," Amy said, her eyes rolling. "You're not even funny."

"Well, we can't interrupt this clearly life-threatening decision any longer," Boone said, standing up out of his armchair. "C'mon, Cooper…let's go shoot some hoops.

"Try not to make the wrong choice, it could end the world," Colin joked as well, following Boone out the door.

"You know, sometimes I hate living with him," Shannon said, staring at the door that had just been shut.

"I can't imagine," Amy sighed. "Living with him…hell, I hate just looking at him."

The two girls also turned back and headed up to Shannon's room to further pick out her outfit for the evening.

…

Piper stood in her driveway, juggling a soccer ball in the air while at the same time pressing a phone to her ear and listening intently. Admittedly, it wasn't easy helping out her old friend Iris while at the same time keeping the ball from hitting the ground, but Piper could manage a few times at least.

And she wasn't quite understanding. All of this information was a bit too much all coming out at once, especially from Iris, who was usually rather good spirited. Now, however, she was nervous, and she felt vulnerable for the first time.

"Wait, let me get this straight," Piper said through the speaker for what felt like the hundredth time. "You have a crush on _Daniel Faraday_?" Iris was a very pretty, very popular girl, and Daniel was a blundering, awkward, nerd. Something didn't seem right about the whole thing.

"Yes," Iris's voice sounded small over the phone when she answered.

"And you didn't tell me!" Piper exclaimed, letting the ball hit the ground in her excitement.

"I know," Iris voice came through guiltily. "But…I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want people to think - ."

She stopped rather suddenly. "You shouldn't be ashamed about who you like, Palmer."

"I know."

"You should have known I wouldn't judge you."

"I know."

"And you should have told everyone else instead of letting them find out this way," Piper said, her tone of voice indicating that she had said all she needed to say and Iris could give her point of view now.

"I don't know how many people really know," Iris said hopefully. "I mean, no doubt Steven knows…and Liv and Leo were there as well, they probably -."

"Think about what you're saying," Piper interrupted. She had heard all she needed to hear at these three names. She continued juggling the soccer ball. "Steven, Liv, and Leo. They're bound to tell everyone." She knew Iris didn't want to hear it, but she also knew that Iris knew it. It wasn't pretty, but it was the truth.

"Yeah," Piper could hear Iris sigh. "What if they told Dan, Piper?"

"Then…they told Dan," Piper said with a shrug that her friend couldn't even see. "There's nothing you can do about it. But…"

"But?"

"If there's a chance Steven didn't tell him," Piper said slowly. "Then I think you should tell him."

"WHAT?"

"It's better he finds out from you than from them!" Piper said defensively, expecting this kind of reaction. "I know it's hard, but if you're just totally honest, I doubt it'll affect your friendship at all."

"But what if - ?"

"You'll never know unless you try," Piper interrupted in a sing-sing type voice.

"But what would I even say? How do you word it to tell a guy that you like him?"

To this, Piper had no good answer, but that's because there isn't really a good answer. "Just go right out and say it," Piper suggested, no other possibilities.

"But -."

"There's always going to be a but, Palmer," Piper interrupted.

Iris sighed. There was no easy way to do this.

…

Cassie walked down the streets of Los Angeles on her way home as the sun was setting. No one was around and she didn't have to be bothered by the normally-crowded streets. It was a rather peaceful stroll; after a day out with her friends (Zack was notably absent), a walk home alone was the perfect way to end the day. However, she was not exactly taking her time with it; she did not like the idea of LA after dark, especially in this notorious area.

With good reason.

Whatever idiot decided to pickpocket her did not do it well. She felt a hand brush across her side and a noticeable emptiness in her pocket and whirled around instantly. The man had seen that she noticed and was sprinting in the opposite direction. "Hey!" She screamed instinctively and chased after him.

Cassie knew she wasn't going to catch up for a couple of reasons. Number one, he had gotten a head start. Two, she was admittedly not the most athletic person you'd find, and he was, it seemed, much faster than she. Her heart fell as she ran; there was a lot of money in that purse, a few credit cards, her student ID, her phone, and her driver's license.

Cassie continued the chase and then suddenly, the man crumpled to the ground. As she slowed, her eyes watched him fall and then looked up for the cause. Now walking, and coming to a halt before the unconscious body in the middle of the sidewalk, she found herself looking into Gene's eyes.

Now Gene was scrawny, and not much taller than Cassie herself, who was only slightly over five feet tall. Also he was known for being unusually reclusive and shy around people he is not comfortable with. And yet he had stepped out of nowhere and knocked this thief unconscious in one hit.

"This yours?" Her purse was in his hand already. She took it, nodding, and instinctively scanned through it. He noticed and said, "I don't think he would've had time to take anything."

"Better be safe," she answered, and true enough, all of her belongings were in place. She looked up, slinging her purse up on her shoulder securely, and met his eyes. She had never noticed they were such an innocent blue, although surrounded by loads of black eyeliner. "Thanks so much."

He merely shrugged. "What the hell do you think you're doing here at this time of day, anyway? It's suicide being out here alone like you," there was something almost reprimanding in his voice.

"Uh, I'm just walking home," Cassie said rather defensively; she didn't like others making her feel stupid. However, she had to admit she was not expecting this amount of concern and sweetness from Gene. "Why are you out in a bad neighborhood, then?" She tried turning the tables on him.

"I…" he began, then hesitated. "I am on my way to the Whiskey…"

"You're walking all the way to the Whiskey?" Cassie said disbelievingly.

"No," he said immediately. "I'm walking you along until I know you're safe, and then I'm hitching a cab to the Whiskey."

Cassie smiled but wasn't exactly sure why. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here. The Whiskey A Go-Go isn't even -."

"Look, darling, unless you're interested in buying some gear, then you don't, under any circumstances, want to know why I'm here," Gene said in a final sort of tone, although there was some warning in his voice as well. Cassie was stunned into silence; she knew he was a dealer but she didn't expect him to go out and say it like that. "Well? Want anything?"

"Absolutely not," Cassie said in disgust.

"Well, let me know if you change your mind," he said sadly. Yet there was something like relief in his eyes, the eyes that Cassie could not tear herself away from…

"I won't," she said confidently but quietly. She really did not understand that kid.

"Let's get going before the cops fome and arrest me for assaulting that guy," he said shortly, tugging on her arm slightly to get her moving. She hurried along at his side toward her house.

**Reviews, my friends :)**


	9. The Day Off

**Wow did it take me long enough to update or what? Sorry about that.**

Iris felt rather good about all of this. At first she felt crappy and humiliated but, as the school day ended and she hopped in her car, she did it with joy.

She had been adamant on the idea of not skipping school despite the sweltering heat and the persistence of her friends, but somehow Raymond had convinced her to join them immediately after school. As most of her other friends skipped as well, she headed out alone, though she was sure Cassie, Sam, Bridget, and Dixion had also been talked into going later.

Anyway, as Iris pulled out of the school parking lot, her thoughts drifted off of the road and onto the day that she thought would never happen. But ever since what Piper had told her over the phone, Iris could not help but consider telling Daniel of her feelings for him. And after procrastinating those four long, hellish days since they'd spoken on the phone, Iris took advantage of the unusually empty hallways this boiling hot Thursday and spilled it all.

Her immediate reaction was extreme awkwardness and she felt horrible. But as the day wore on she felt better, proud, in fact, that she had finally come clean of her feelings.

Piper was right, she thought, feeling the wind whipping about her face, making her anxious to get to the ocean. There was no reason to be ashamed for liking Daniel even though he was the world's biggest nerd. And if anyone had a problem with it, they could take it up with Iris.

And no one took up their problems with Iris.

As she pulled into a parking lot, she grabbed her bag and hopped onto the beach, letting the hot sand creep over her toes. She knew exactly where her friends would be and walked in that direction.

Iris spotted Piper playing beach volleyball with Amelia, Steven, Leo, and Sawyer. Cheerfully she threw her bag into the sand and hopped in their court, bumping the ball and sending it soaring over the net.

"How nice of you to join us," Piper noted, scooting over and making the teams equally 3 on 3.

"Sorry I'm late," she grinned. "I got caught up in some…business…"

She met Piper's brown eyes and could tell her friend understood. But the full story could wait till later; today was meant to be relaxing for a reason. She tied back her blonde hair and her mind was set on the game.

Unfortunately, it would not be forgotten easily.

"Yes Iris, how very kind of you," Leo agreed, malice flashing in his dark brown eyes. Beside him, Steven smirked, as if an evil thought had shot through both of their minds simultaneously. "But I'm sure it was with good reason that you stayed behind today." Steven served it over the net.

"You're right," Iris growled in a sort of tone that was meant to warn him not to mess with her. Of course, he would not listen. "You see, I want to go somewhere in my life and therefore value my education." At her side, Sawyer hit it back over towards him.

"Of course," Steven nodded, watching Amelia hit the ball. "I'm sure you and your boyfriend, being pretty much the only ones left at school today, had a Hell of a time."

"As I'm sure you and your boyfriend had fun too," Iris retorted venomously, nodding at Steven.

Both boys chose to ignore this but Piper started laughing so hard that she missed the ball. Iris smirked and Leo chose to ignore this comment. "I'm betting a lot of chemistry went down? In third hour, of course," Leo sneered, clearly showing that what he meant had nothing to do with third hour.

"I took chemistry sophomore year," Iris said conversationally, as if she didn't understand his true intention. "I'm actually in physics now."

"Then things got pretty physical?" Steven questioned, and it was Leo's turn to snicker cruelly. In response, Iris mustered up all her strength and spiked the ball over the net and into Leo's chest, knocking the wind out of him, while Piper tossed sand in Steven's eyes. The two of them walked off haughtily while Steven and Leo stood in their pain, and Sawyer and Amelia stood around looking very confused.

…

Bridget was feeling unusually brave today. After denying Amelia's offer to join her in volleyball she had wandered for a few minutes before her eyes fell on a certain British bass player, and for some reason, she fought her instinctive shyness and strode over there.

"Hey Zack," she smiled. Bravery could only get her so far; if it wasn't for her friend Zack, who also happened to be standing in this group, she probably wouldn't have walked over there anyway.

Zack did not look nearly as eager to get away from this conversation as he had previously at the bonfire. Still, he smiled his very wide smile and said hi. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah," Bridget said. She was, she hated to admit, tempted to skip school just because she knew Charlie would, but she convinced herself that it wasn't worth it. "Didn't miss much, did I?"

"No," Zack shrugged. "Mostly everyone's just been hanging out and messing around."

Bridget's first reaction was to ask what he meant by that but she hesitated, not entirely wanting to know, if this was the crowd he's been hanging out with. He sensed her hesitation. "If you want to know what I'm talking about, go find Liv, Colin, and Gene…they shouldn't be too hard to find…"

"I'll pass," Bridget said immediately. Something was off about this situation, and after scanning the scene for a few seconds, she realized what it was. "Where's Claire?"

"She caught up with Sam, Dixion, and Cassie," he said. Bridget should've guessed; she'd come here with them. She noticed Zack's eyes dart to his friends, notably, Luke and Kate.

Bridget rolled her eyes. She honestly wished Luke and Claire would just go out already. Never was she entirely for the idea, but who was she to talk? How different would it be from her and Charlie? Not that that's ever going to happen…she added to herself sadly.

"Hey, there's a bar a little bit down that-a-way," Brandon interjected. "Who's in?"

Everyone shrugged, looking a little pleased at the idea of something to do other than just standing there. Zack looked at Bridget, both of them looking unsure. Nobody noticed their hesitation and starting trudging through the sand anyway.

Charlie, however, declined, surprisingly. "I'm going to go see Claire, maybe I'll catch up with you," he waved to them as he walked in the opposite direction. Bridget looked away at his words and didn't catch the small, friendly smile shot in her direction.

There was an awkward silence that Kate, oblivious, decided to break. "Are they together now?" she looked at Luke quizzically, then glanced around at everyone else for an answer.

"They might as well be," Dominic answered awkwardly. Both Bridget and Luke tried too hard to look uncaring, as if this was just another piece of gossip. Taking a stab at hinting, Dom added, "Claire's trying to get over some guy, and she and Charlie have always been good friends, so it's perfect really."

He put a strained emphasis on the word 'perfect', almost sarcastic. Brandon gave a scowl that went unnoticed by everybody except for Zack and Cassie.

"Aw, well, I'm happy for them," Kate said, glancing over at Luke, who had squeezed her hand rather tightly at those words. He shook his head and muttered something incoherent.

As they once again started their journey down the beach, Zack pulled Brandon back. "You're losing your touch, Master Matchmaker," Zack said with raised eyebrows.

"I'm working on it," he looked stressed.

"Yeah? Well, it aint working," Bridget interjected, quickly catching up on the situation.

Brandon gave her a strange look but ignored that comment. "I can't keep worrying about Luke and Claire and Dominic and Shannon anyway. I've got my own life…"

Dominic and Shannon? _That could wait_, Zack thought. "Your own life? This have to do with the new cute brunette chick?"

"Sophia," Brandon told him, looking unembarrassed.

"Tell you what," Zack began. He kept shooting glances at Bridget, who was listening interestedly, but not speaking. "You work on Luke and Claire, I'll talk to Sophia for you."

Brandon grinned. "I don't need your help, but sure, what the Hell? Seeing as we're talking business here, you two have anything in mind."

"No," Bridget said immediately while Zack just laughed and looked flustered.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, noticing her quickness to react. "Who is it? C'mon, you can tell me." She remained silent. "Do you know?" He directed to Zack when she didn't answer.

"I-I think I might," he said.

Bridget's head shot up. How did he know? She had never told anyone. Her thoughts were flying; how'd he find out? And if Zack knew, did others know too? What if Charlie himself told him?

"Who is it?" Brandon urged.

"I don't know for sure," Zack hesitated.

"Hint."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes."

"HA!" Brandon exclaimed in triumph.

"Dude, did that really just happen?" Zack questioned himself.

"Okay, now you owe me a hint," Brandon said.

"He has blonde…ish…hair…" Zack said. "Right?" Slowly, petrified, Bridget nodded.

"Blondish," Brandon pondered aloud. "It's not Sawyer?" Both of the others shook their heads.

"Why are we talking about me?" Bridget said before he could make another guess. She shot a dirty look at Zack, who looked guilty. "I can see that you got out of questioning pretty easy."

"That's right," Brandon said. "Zack, who're you into?"

"Hey, isn't that Colin? What're they up to now?" Zack said, pointing ahead of them slightly, speaking rather louder than necessary.

Bridget rolled her eyes. How like Zack. Brandon just smirked and shook his dreadlocked head. He supposed he could let Zack change the subject, after all, it was the student-made day off.

It could wait.

…

Amy felt bad for Shannon, she really, really did. But if the girl wasn't such a _dumbass_, Amy wouldn't have to do this. She scanned the beach, sending an I-wish-you-a-very-painful-death glare at some guy who'd been checking her out, searching for a certain group of people.

Putting a smile on her face she walked over to Mimi, Scarlett, and Memphis. All three of them stopped talking immediately. Mimi and Scarlett glared suspiciously while Amy stood there awkwardly.

She took a deep breath. Get straight to the point, right? "Shannon's a bitch."

"Have a seat," Mimi offered, patting the sand beside her.

"Pardon me if I tune out the drama," Memphis said, turning his shaggy blonde head away in fake disgust.

"No one's asking you to stay here," Mimi teased, sticking her tongue out immaturely.

"Well, I can see I'm unwanted," he said, moving like he was going to leave.

"No, you're wanted, you're wanted!" she cried, grabbing his arm and dragging him back down.

"Okay, if you two would kindly stop flirting," Scarlett said pointedly. They looked at her. "What's going on?"

Amy was a fellow cheerleader. Back in the day it was always Scarlett and Shannon, they were inseparable. They got all the boys, all the friends, all the cutest clothes, and the most fun. Eventually Amy decided that she needed in on this, she needed the boys, the friends, and the clothes. And then there were three. And soon three became four; Mimi, the only non-cheerleader of the bunch, grew close to Shannon.

From the beginning she'd noticed a sort of friendly competition between the two blondes. But now that it turned unfriendly it had seemed like she needed to pick sides. There wasn't much of a choice; Shannon clung to her, especially now that Mimi's gone.

"That's what's going on," Amy sighed bitterly, her voice shaking slightly as she pointed down the beach.

Scarlett frowned. "I don't see any-."

"SEX ON THE BEACH!"

Unmistakably, it was Colin's voice. He was standing by a very bewildered Shannon and Raymond who were merely sitting, watching the ocean, and snacking on ice cream. As he shouted, Liv and Gene ran up and squirted salad dressing and ketchup all over the two of them.

"Where the Hell did they…?" Mimi began, shaking her head slowly.

"I'm guessing that restaurant behind them, where that couple at the table is yelling at them to give them their ketchup back," Memphis suggested.

"That's not the point," Amy said, both frustrated and amused.

At this tone of voice, Scarlett and Mimi turned to her, all crazy antics of the other three forgotten, confused. Suddenly, realization dawned on Mimi; it had been so long since she had spoken with Amy, she had nearly forgotten.

"You like Raymond!"

Scarlett gasped, her memory clearly jogged as well. To Memphis, however, this was news. "I'm sorry, who are you, again?" Memphis said, politely puzzled.

"Amy Hart," she muttered, her face nearly as red as her hair. She'd been told her crush on Ray was obvious, but she was still embarrassed talking about it.

"And you like Raymond too?" he questioned. She nodded. "Damn, I better be a star basketball player in another life. They get all the good looking chicks."

Scarlett and Mimi both hit him lightly, not looking away from Amy. They could not believe that both of them had forgotten this little piece of information. "And all this time, you've just been playing along, instead of pointing out that he's _your_ man and she should back off if she knows what's good for her?" Mimi questioned.

"Of course I have!" Amy said, getting defensive. "Shannon's got more power than I have, she'd destroy me…"

"But we've got something Shannon doesn't," Scarlett pointed out. Amy looked at her questionably. "Numbers," she said with a smile, hugging Amy. Mimi hugged them too.

"What a filthy hypocrite," Scarlett said disgustedly, sending a dirty look at Shannon, who had stepped into the ocean to let the waves wash the condiments off of her. "She hates you," she said to Mimi. "Because you made out with that one guy she liked, but now she's dating the guy who Amy likes."

"You made out with _what_ guy?" Memphis questioned.

"Last year, I was drunk, he was two years older, he's out of school now," Mimi answered quickly. "I know she is! We definitely need a way for revenge! I was thinking that – where are you going?" she cut off her train of thought as Memphis rose beside her and waded into the water.

"What the - ?"

From afar the girls watched as Memphis engaged Shannon in conversation for a few minutes as she rinsed herself off in the saltwater. They watched, still, as he pointed out a spot she had missed on her leg. As she turned to see where, he grabbed her legs and set her flying, face first, into the water.

By the time Shannon resurfaced, sopping wet and fuming, Memphis was already halfway back to them. "You're welcome!" he shouted as he walked past them and toward Colin and Gene, who were probably looking for some new way to stir up trouble.

"Well that's one way," Amy said, watching him go. She was just glad the other two had accepted her, because Shannon had gone too far this time.

…

Sophia and Liv stood knee-deep in the water, looking out wearily over the ocean, as if they wanted to swim but were much too lazy. Sophia took a long drag on her joint and, for once in their lives, the two girls were quiet. "Zoey needs to get out of the fucking water," she finally said.

Liv took a sip of her drink, shrugging. "Let her swim. Unless she knows something to kill the boredom…"

"You get bored much too easily, my friend," Sophia noted.

"I have time to rest when I'm dead," Liv said defensively.

"Hey, I'm bored too," Sophia said, giving a half-shrug showing that she didn't mean anything by it. "I'm almost considering going home and just playing drums or something – more interesting than this."

"We should talk to everyone and see if they want to hit up the Whiskey or something," Liv suggested, observing the setting sun over the ocean. "That's always a blast."

"What's the Whiskey?"

"You've never heard of the Whiskey A Go-Go?" Liv gasped, nearly dropping her drink.

"Sounds familiar. Bar?"

"Club," Liv said, in awe at her friend. Sophia shrugged; she had lived in Russia the first half of her life, and coming to this school was her first real big city experience. "Good music, hot guys. It's off Sunset Boulevard, right down the street from the Roxy and the Viper Room. Two other clubs," she said before Sophia could ask.

"I'm game," Sophia said, actually rather excited at the idea. "Shall we ask the guys?"

"No," Liv answered immediately. "They'll all want to go to the strip clubs...they'll ask when we're leaving. We'll get Zoey though." She stared around the ocean, seeing nothing but the little kids from visiting families. "Damn it. Where is she?"

"Hello ladies," the unexpected voice of Zack came from behind them. He had waded out to the water beside them. "Olivia." He nodded, she scowled. "And I don't think we've officially met, but, Sophia, correct?"

Sophia's green eyes narrowed. "Yes."

"I'm Zack, I'm Brandon's friend," he said, putting an unusual emphasis on his friend's name. He too joined them in looking out at the ocean. "So what're you up to? Having fun?"

"Not really," Liv answered. "We want to hit the clubs but we don't know where Zoey is."

"Clubs? Cool," Zack could not honestly say he'd ever been to a club before, despite living in LA practically his whole life. Brandon would probably drag him there when he found out about this plan though, so he just volunteered himself. "If you two don't mind, I'll tag along…maybe I'll ask Brandon…if you don't mind, of course." He peered at Sophia.

"Nah, that's cool, the more the merrier," she said, looking completely indifferent. "I didn't think she swam off that far…"

Zack could see this conversation wasn't going anywhere, and he made a mental note to tell Brandon that his matchmaking job was harder than he thought. He was suddenly distracted. "Wait – isn't that her?"

"Oh my God," Sophia's hand flew to her mouth.

"LIFEGUARD! LIFEGUARD!" Liv cried immediately at the sight of her friend's unmoving, floating form. But all three of them knew better; the very reason they came to this beach was because there was little authority here, and every time they entered they passed by a huge "Swim at own risk" sign.

"Do something!" Sophia shook Zack's arm desperately. He began trying to fight the waves, but the tide was getting stronger at this time of day, and he was too scrawny to fight the waves.

Suddenly, he, too, fell and was overcame by water, but he had the strength to resurface. Shaking his black hair out of his face, he gasped, looking for the source of his collapse.

Both Steven and Raymond had answered to Liv's previous call, but Raymond was finding it rather difficult to get into the water at this time.

"Don't – don't! You could get hurt!"

"I'm not going to!" he said, trying to shake his girlfriend's surprisingly strong grip.

"What if it was a shark or something?"

"That's not a shark attack you idiot!" Gene yelled finally, pushing her aside, sending her flying into the sand, and Raymond was in the water too, though Steven had already almost made it to Zoey's unconscious body.

"Oh my God." Liv noticed Leo by her side and gripped his hand. It was weird to see a tough girl like Liv in this scared of a state but she had never seen something like this before. "Oh my God."

**Hmm. Zoey. What happened? Is she okay? Who knows…**

**And you'll all be happy to know that even if it says submissions closed on the summary, submissions are REOPENED! But for minor characters. And what I mean by that is…you know how I said Mimi made out with some guy who is now graduated? People like that. Other recommendations…**

**Older/younger siblings**

**Band members – graduates of the school or dropouts**

**People from the rival school – preferably cheerleaders, basketball or soccer players**

**Employees in the city – fast food, bartenders, dancers from the clubs, etc.**

**People who'd moved away and are revisiting**

**You get the picture. It'd be best if they were people with a connection to an OC. Not everyone will be accepted, probably, unless I don't get many. Please review?**


	10. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys! Yeah it's not a new chapter, sorry. But I just thought I'd post an Author's Note emphasizing what I had put up at the end of the last chapter. Yes, yes…submissions are REOPENED.

I will not accept any more regular students, they are my main characters and I have enough. The minor ones, however…let me put a definition to 'minor character'…someone who is important enough to be named and makes several appearances, but not primarily featured.

But who knows? If I like your character enough, they could make a lot of appearances and end up pretty much being a main character anyway.

The form is almost the same as the one in the first chapter with but one exception. But I'll repost it in this chapter anyway.

Nicknames:

Sawyer's nicknames:

Age:

Personality:

Habits/Hobbies: _what they like to do for fun_

Appearance:

Clothing style:

Friends:

Enemies:

Pairing:

Past: _Short, sweet, to the point?_

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Occupation: _if adult_

Current residency: _if they live in the area they are from Los Angeles, California._

Favorites: _anything worth mentioning_

Parties? Drinking? Drugs? Sex?:

Important possessions:

Catchphrases:

Plot ideas: _what could happen to them this year?_

Anything else?: _did I forget something? Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else._

Awesome. I'd prefer a lot of these, so go ahead and submit as many as you want. They also will not necessarily be announced in the next chapter, or even in any closely following chapter. Submissions for minor characters are open from now until the end of time…or, until I decide to close them, but the more characters, the better, I'm thinking. And let's have them all have SOME RELATION to a canon or OC.

Here are the suggestions again, in greater detail. Next to each suggestion is a number signifying approximately how many of each I would like:

Students who used to go to the school but moved - 4

Students from the rival school: basketball players, cheerleaders, football players, and soccer players preferably - 6

Older or younger siblings, or any relatives really. - 6

Club workers: band members, strippers, bouncers, etc. (the charries will go to clubs often) - 6

High school dropouts or graduates – 4, 2 of each?

City employees: police officers, fast food workers, pool owners, theme park workers. - 4

Celebs: actors/actresses or musicians (YES they live near Hollywood so the celebs will make appearances – these ones should not have a connection to characters and I do not want many of these! They also will not appear in the story as often as other minors.) - 3

Employees of the celebs: managers, assistants, etc. – 3

Anyone you can think of – use your imagination!

As you can see I'll need a LOT of minors so submit, submit, submit! I'll have a few of my own in here, probably…depending on how many I get…hopefully a lot.

Forget what I said in the last chapter. Most will be accepted because I trust you guys know how to fill out a detailed form by now, right? Haha.

Um, I'm thinking that's it as far as minor characters go, but if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Hopefully next chapter won't take as long to post as the last one, sorry about that…

SUBMIT!


	11. Cat's Outta the Bag

**Woot. Enjoy.**

"Does this LOOK like a show? Do you think we're setting this up for your own amusement?" Leo was shouting to a crowd that had begun to gather, including some of his schoolmates. They looked rather frightened at his shouts. "Well we're NOT! Clear out! What are YOU looking at?" he said viciously to a young boy who ran off toward his mother.

Eventually that part of the beach had cleared out. Leo hurried over to Steven, who had Zoey on her back, and Sawyer, who was on the phone with the 911. "How's it coming?" Leo said, though he could see for himself that it wasn't coming anywhere.

Steven was not qualified, or even educated, on CPR or any other forms of resuscitation but he was doing his best. "Damn it, Zoey," he muttered, ignoring Leo. For once, Leo was okay with being ignored.

"-collapsed while swimming," Sawyer was saying into the phone. "No. What? How should I know, I aint her mother! Why don't you get some guys down here and ask her yerself?"

Leo shook his head at his Southern friend and made his way to where Raymond was standing, Shannon clinging to him once again. He looked rather annoyed.

"Any luck?" Raymond asked immediately.

Leo shook his head. "Sawyer's got help on the phone, but he…isn't cooperating well with them," he decided to spare them of the details, though inaudible shouts from Sawyer could still be heard from where they were on the beach.

"I see that," Raymond said and Shannon gave a shaky, scared laugh.

"She's…going to be okay, though, right?" Shannon whispered, looking at Leo with big blue eyes. No one really knew Zoey very well because she had just moved here. Not everyone even knew who she was, but it swept up a big stir in the students already.

"Yes, of course," Leo said before he could help himself. He glanced down to where she was every few moments, waiting for any sign of life apart from Sawyer's shouting which was soon joined by Steven's.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, FORD!" was the only decipherable message they could hear.

"Wait…" Ray muttered as he, too, looked down the beach. Without warning, he burst into a sprint in that direction. Shannon looked flabbergasted and Leo peered at him questionably as well.

"Is she-?"

Ray was silenced by one hand held up from Steven. Zoey was moving; ever so slightly, but Zoey was moving. Sawyer, too, knelt by her side, the phone still pressed to his ear but silent.

"What…?" Zoey's voice came out as a choke, a whisper. Her eyes had opened, squinting from the setting sun. "Who…?"

"Shh…" Steven said. He looked at Sawyer. "They coming?" He nodded. "You'll be okay soon, girl, don't even worry."

A questioning look passed over her face but her eyes closed and once again she was out. The three boys were silent for one moment then all stood up simultaneously. Shannon and Leo had returned.

"She's fine," Ray muttered. "She's okay."

Shannon's smile was slightly sad as she glanced down at the again-unconscious body of the British girl. "C'mon. Everyone's worrying." She pulled his hand toward the nearest group of people from their school, leaving Leo, Sawyer, and Steven waiting around.

"I don't think she was drunk," Dominic was saying, frowning.

"I didn't say drunk, I said drugs," Luke pointed out. He, Dominic, Brandon, Gene, Sophia, Liv, Charlie, Claire, Kate, and Zack were oblivious to the arrival of Raymond and Shannon.

"What drug do you do while swimming?" Brandon questioned.

"I don't know, do I? Maybe she found a way to do it."

"Even if she could, I don't think she'd be _stupid_ enough to use drugs while swimming," Dom said in a final sort of tone. "Or drink, for that matter."

"Stupid? I think it's revolutionary," Gene said, clearly imagining the swarms of addicts who would go for that stuff. "Think about it…waterproof crack…"

"Okay, think about what you're saying, just for one second –," Dominic began, giving Gene a very incredulous look. Liv, Sophia, and Zack, who had chosen not to participate in this conversation, were observing with a kind of sick amusement.

"Go ask her, maybe she invented it," Luke told him, ignoring Dominic and his logic.

"I can't ask her, if you haven't noticed, she's kind of unconscious," Gene pointed out.

"She woke up," Ray decided this would be a good time to announce their presence. The ten of them looked up, Dominic quickly looking away as he saw who it was. "Just for a second. But she was awake."

"Damn it, Gene, you missed your chance," Brandon said jokingly.

"That's okay," he said. "I don't think she'd be able to keep any…anything…in that bikini anyway…"

"Yeah, because you'd keep it in your shoes, right?" Luke questioned, clearly inquiring as to where Gene keeps his stash.

"Of course not," he snapped, looking irritated at the question.

"Sorry we couldn't go to the Whiskey, Soph," Liv said, trying to turn the conversation back to normal again. "You'd like it there."

"We were going to this Whiskey?" Charlie asked, also clearly grateful for the change of subject.

"We were talking about it," Liv told him. "We were going to get Zoey and go…"

"I say we still go!" Charlie said.

Claire shoved him. "What the heck, Charlie? How could we possibly go now?"

"Well why shouldn't we?" Brandon interjected calmly, clearly not wanting anyone to snap at him for defending him. "Just because Zoey's hurt…we know she's okay, we know she woke up." He looked at Raymond.

"It's what she would have wanted," Charlie added.

"You sound like she's dead!" Sophia cried. "Yeah, I want to go…it sounds like a sweet place…but…" she looked unsure.

"I'm staying," Claire said firmly. Zack silently agreed, hoping Brandon wouldn't drag him over there.

"Zoey's never been there either," Liv said slowly, as if thinking this through out loud. "I say we wait for when she's able to go." Sophia nodded vigorously at her side.

"Anyone else want to go?" Charlie said, unaffected by these three girls deciding to stay. If anyone else wanted to go, he'd gladly accompany them.

"I'm up for it," Brandon volunteered and Dom gave a halfhearted shrug. Zack shook his head jerkily.

"Let's go, it'll help take our minds off of things," Shannon said, clinging onto Raymond's arm again. Kate nodded.

He sighed, looking slightly annoyed. "You go, I'm going to hang with Leo. I'll text you what's going on." She looked disappointed but did not protest. They all looked at Luke and Gene.

"I don't know if I – are those police sirens?" Gene yelped mid sentence.

Raymond peered at him questionably. "Ambulance for Zoey, probably police as well, they always send a -."

"Race you there," Gene said to Charlie, having heard what he needed to hear. He set off at a sprint down away from the direction of the sirens.

Ignoring this, Brandon said to Dominic, "We're going to need a ride…"

"Yeah, no problem," Dominic said, glancing between Luke and Brandon, refusing to look at Shannon who had just kissed Raymond goodbye and he headed back down the beach.

"Make that 'you are going to need a ride'," Luke said, making his decision. He looked between Claire and Kate. "I'm sticking around."

"Oh, I gotcha, I gotcha," Brandon said, smiling slyly despite the current situation. "Catch you all later…make sure we know what's going on," he said to Luke, not entirely meaning the Zoey situation. Luke nodded and the group split up.

Instinctively, those remaining turned and looked at where Zoey was now being carried onto an ambulance. Sawyer, Steven, Ray, and Leo were talking to the paramedics. They didn't seem to be too worried.

"I wonder if she's going to be at school tomorrow," Claire said softly, shocking them all. It hadn't even occurred to them that something as normal as school was happening in just a few hours.

"Doesn't look like it," Luke said, by her side. "She'll need the weekend to rest…I wonder what it was that made her pass out like that."

"Heat?" Sophia suggested halfheartedly.

"It could be," Luke said though clearly not believing it. "But everyone's been in the heat…running around…and she was in the water."

No one seemed to argue with this. "I'm going to go over there," Liv said after a few minutes, walking toward Leo. Sophia joined her, leaving Zack, Claire, and Luke.

Claire's eyes had begun to swim with tears and both boys noticed this at the same time. Zack hesitated in doing his best friend duties and consoling her, and he was glad he did, for Luke reacted instinctively and put his arm around her, and she leaned into his shoulder and let the tears fall silently.

…

Zoey, as it turned out, was not at school the following day. Seeing as most of the teams had been out at the beach or at the club or doing something all night, cheerleading practice had been held off till after school. Talk on Zoey had not died down at this time and it seemed only one person was not worried for her.

"What is your problem?" Shannon said snidely, glaring at Ana Lucia. For once, Scarlett and Amy had to agree with her.

"That girl is my problem!" Ana responded with disgust. "That's karma for you…she got what's coming for her."

"And you're about to get what's coming to you!" Scarlett said, stepping a little closer to her and crossing her arms menacingly. Sure, Scarlett had known Ana for much longer than she had known Zoey, but her attitude was completely unacceptable.

"Oh, you think so?" Ana sneered. The only problem was that Ana was one of the toughest girls in the school and to take her on would be suicide.

But Scarlett wasn't alone. "I think so," Shannon and Amy said at the same time, each taking a spot at her side. Even Ana Lucia was not three people.

"Look, I don't want a fight, all I'm saying is -." Ana began, trying to calm down.

"All I'm saying is you can either shut your mouth or leave," Scarlett said in a final sort of tone. Ana looked like she had a lot more to say but instead just stood with the rest of the cheerleaders, who'd been watching with amusement, waiting for instructions.

Scarlett and Amy smiled at each other, and Scarlett and Shannon made eye contact but only briefly. "Right," Scarlett said, slightly thrown off by that scuffle. "Well…positions, everyone, the first game's in about two weeks…"

The cheerleaders scattered and they ran through their routines a few times. The fight was soon forgotten as everyone was too pleased with their success to think of anything else. However –

"Hello, ladies!"

The arrival of Leo, Steven, and Charlie from the soccer pitch startled the girls and a few of them stumbled. "Don't worry about it," Scarlett told them before they could even apologize. "What do you guys want?"

"To watch the show," Leo smirked as the cheerleaders, noticing that this was a break, stretched. The girls either blushed and giggled or scowled and glared.

"Yeah, well, go see a movie or something if you want a show," Scarlett said, frustrated. Leo and Charlie were good friends, and Steven was one of her best, but things changed when she put on her uniform. "This is a private practice."

"Practice away, we won't be long, the coach will drag us back over there in a few minutes anyway," Charlie said, shooting a smile at Claire, which she returned.

"Take five everyone!" she shouted at the girls who immediately struck up conversations about God knows what. "So how's the team looking this year?" she asked the guys. Amy joined her.

Steven shrugged. "About the same as last year. Not great but not terrible."

"It would help if we had a decent captain," Charlie muttered.

Leo hit his shoulder. "_I_ just like to have a bit of fun and there is nothing wrong with that!" he said defensively.

Amy and Scarlett exchanged a concerned glance, silently debating whether they should ask or not. "And by that, you mean…?" Amy said slowly.

"Just don't even go there," Charlie advised.

"Well, for example," Steven ignored Charlie.

"Should we be afraid?" Scarlett asked but was ignored.

"Today," he said slightly louder. "Leo here thought it would be interesting if –."

"WHERE IS SHE?"

A demanding shriek made all of them jump and it didn't take long to figure out where from. An unfamiliar dark-skinned, dark-haired girl was darting about the campus and then her eyes fell on their group.

"You!" she pointed at Steven who looked quite alarmed. "I just heard – I was gone all last night – where's Zoey?"

"Who the Hell are you?" Leo asked, looking around for anyone who she could have been with.

"Not here!" Steven answered, loudly, stepping backwards instinctively, though he was about a foot taller than this girl, he looked freaked out.

"Well she's not at the hospital!" she screamed. "And if it's back I need to - !"

"What are you on?" Amy asked, clearly not understanding much of anything this girl was saying.

"I know it was you who saved her! They told me at the hospital so you know!" she was now yelling.

"Okay, chill out for a second!" Steven said, finally taking control and grabbing the girl's shoulders and making her hold still. She slapped him. He touched his face for a moment, looking wary, but then said. "Who are you?"

"Zoey's sister, Mena," she breathed.

"Well Mena," he said slowly. "If she's not at the hospital and she's not at school, maybe she's at your house."

"My house," she repeated, then turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction.

"What the Hell?" Leo asked, to which no one seemed to have a response.

...

Bridget had been forced by Amelia to stay after school so they could play tennis together. Honestly it didn't take much convincing, because she knew the soccer team was playing today, and the courts were right by the fields. She was not very good at tennis, but Amelia didn't seem to have anything to complain about.

When the shriek rang out across the grounds Amelia dropped her racket. "What the - ?" she and Bridget stared over at where the unknown girl was confronting the soccer players and cheerleaders. They watched as she sprinted by a minute later.

"I wonder what that was about," Amelia said finally. "Maybe I'll text Leo…"

Bridget smirked slightly at these words but chose not to comment. "We could just go over there and ask," she said very casually. Her real intentions were not caught by Amelia.

"Nah, they're leaving, see," Amelia pointed at the distant figure of the soccer coach calling back the three who had wandered off. "Aw, Charlie and Claire are just cute," she added, smiling as he hugged her before going back to practice.

Bridget frowned but didn't want to look too concerned. "I don't know, I always thought that she and Luke were a perfect match," Bridget's voice was surprisingly steady.

"Luke Maddox?" Amelia questioned and it was confirmed. "Huh. I never would've thought of it myself but I guess I can see that."

"They've liked each other for a while," Bridget explained. "Which got in the way of Luke and Charlie's friendship…and I guess Luke going after Kate kind of ended that," she said sadly, hoping it was untrue.

"Hmm," Amelia said, looking deep in thought for a moment, but then she turned, heading back to the other side of the net. "Your serve," she said, tossing the ball over to her. They hit it back and forth in silence a few times. "I think she still likes him," she said suddenly.

"Who?"

"Claire and Luke," Amelia said. "She doesn't seem all that happy with Charlie."

"And he doesn't seem that happy with Kate."

"Maybe they should switch," Amelia joked.

Bridget forced a smile. "Hey, as long as he's happy," Bridget said softly more to herself than to Amelia. Unfortunately, she picked it up, and she found this a very strange thing to say.

"As long as…?" she looked between the soccer pitch and Bridget, once again looking deep in thought. Bridget racked her brains, searching for something that could make what she said less obvious, but it was too late. "Do you like Charlie, Bridge?"

"I – um," she stuttered, feeling her face burn red. No one had ever known her secret before, and now suddenly Zack and Amelia both know? This was getting out of hand.

"Don't worry," Amelia said kindly. "Your secret is safe with me." And for this, Bridget was eternally grateful.

In the school, Brandon looked up. He had driven back to the school to pick up his drumsticks which he had left in the band room. And the band room happened to be by the tennis courts.

And the window happened to be open.

"So that's who it is," he muttered to himself, the breeze from the window rustling his dreadlocked hair.

**I need more minor characters!**


	12. Story Cancellation and Author's Note

Hello my friends, my formerly faithful readers.

Of course, that "formerly" is no fault of yours. I must say I've been the one who is extremely unfaithful when it comes to keeping up with my stories. It kills me to admit this, because I know as a reader how disappointing it is to see a good story go off the site. I don't have much of an explanation except that I fell out of it for a while and couldn't keep up again. But I feel like I can make it up to you. I remembered how much fun I had writing this story and the ideas I had for its future. And I miss it. More than I can say. There aren't a lot of things that I see are really, really important to me. Music and art, for one. But only recently have I realized that writing is one of them. And I want to come back to fanfiction.

It won't happen quickly. I'll probably take things one story at a time, to see if I really can keep up with it or not. I'm in all Honors classes at my school and of course that takes up a lot of my time. But I know that if I start again that it will be OC writing. I feel like the readers are more involved and that it gives me more creative freedom and diversity.

So I'm asking you. What do you want from me? I can try to continue this story, but it'll be hard to pull things together again. Or I can create another one. A final one. If this one doesn't work then I won't disappoint you again, because I feel as if I've done that too many times. A new one would be a high school OC fic. A boarding school (I know, I change my mind a lot) in Los Angeles. I won't lie; there will be times where I fall out of writing and updates will be spread apart. But this time I really want it to work. So feel free to shoot me a PM and remind me to update. The more I hear from you, the more motivated I'll be.

So please...let me know what you'd want from me. I felt like I had to explain this, because if I just started a new one, you'd remember how unfaithful I was last time and not want to submit. I want to be better. It's a new year. new times. Review...please!


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